BREMERTON — The United Way of Kitsap County is accepting applications for five of 20 positions on its board of directors.

Terms are for three years and begin in January. The board meets on the third Thursday of each month. Board members participate in various committees and make a monetary contribution at a comfortable level.

United Way is nearing the conclusion of its 2013 annual campaign. Every year, the board reviews dozens of Kitsap agencies, researches community needs, and allocates local donations to the organizations that are making the biggest impact in Kitsap County.

United Way of Kitsap County’s mission is “Mobilizing community resources to improve people’s lives.”

“We are searching for motivated and enthusiastic individuals who want to be actively engaged in our efforts to raise local funds in support of the communities safety net of services benefiting the less fortunate in our community,” said David Foote, executive director. “We are in the business of creating meaningful and tangible impact throughout Kitsap County and we are looking to fill these vacancies with individuals willing to roll up their sleeves and get involved.”

Each year nearly 1 out of 3 people in Kitsap County are helped by the United Way network of agencies dedicated to raising people up out of poverty, ensuring that families have enough food for their table, ensuring that children are safe and ready for school, that the homeless are helped to become productive members of the community and that the elderly and disabled are safe, warm and secure.

“This has been another difficult year for fund raising as we all deal with a sluggish economy, political discourse and economic uncertainty,” Foote said. “As board members leave the board due to term limits, job changes, promotions and moving out of the area, we need to replace these good board members with individuals who are anxious and capable of helping us make strategic decisions and working in the community to raise funds to support our important community work and want to make a difference.”

United Way is also recruiting community members to be Campaign Executives. These individuals help United Way raise funds every year during the annual Community Campaign.

“We are looking to build our cadre of CEs up to 15 to 20 individuals who want to learn what United Way does and how we help support the community safety net,” Foote said.

“Starting in January, the CEs meet once per month preparing marketing materials for the fall campaign that runs from September through December. During the campaign, CEs work five to seven hours per week making presentations throughout Kitsap County to tell the story of how United Way helps improve people’s lives through the community safety net.”

Contact Foote at 360-377-8505 or dfoote@unitedwaykitsap.org.