Six months ago, the future of the 65-year-old Connoquenessing Valley Community Chest looked bleak.

Donations were down, eight of 12 board members retired, and interest in the local fundraising entity that serves nonprofits in the Zelienople and Harmony area seemed to be waning.

"We voted to possibly suspend operations," said Pat Murray, a board member for eight years.

The community chest, however, officially started a new year of fundraising last week when volunteers mailed nearly 5,500 residential solicitations and started delivering 1,200 full-color brochures to local business owners and their employees.

Convinced that the charity could and would remain a solid contributor to the community, Mr. Murray, 38, the owner of the Murray Agency on Zelienople's main street, agreed to serve as president.

New board members came in, and the volunteers agreed they could inject new life into the charity.

They set a fundraising goal of $35,000 -- the organization raised $28,000 last year -- updated its Web presence, started an e-mail campaign and decided to use color brochures to help showcase its purpose.

"We feel that given a real strong effort, we should be able to raise that money," Mr. Murray said.

Besides funding mainstays such as Zelienople Public Library and Community Park, the organization also will give money to the Southwestern Butler County Food Cupboard.

For the first time, the local Meals on Wheels chapter also will get funding.

"We are very happy," said Barbara Kaufman, director of the local chapter of Meals on Wheels.

Ms. Kaufman, a retired teacher who has been director of the chapter since it started in 1970, said her group of one paid cook and 135 volunteers ensures that an average of about 40 people in the Zelienople-Evans City area get two meals a day, five days a week.

The chapter has a budget of about $40,000 a year and relies entirely on local donations. The community chest has pledged $2,500 if it meets its fundraising goal, she said.

"This will help us break even," she said, adding that every little donation counts.

According to its Web site, the community chest has raised more than $1.5 million for local nonprofit organizations since its inception in 1944. Mr. Murray said, "I think it's still an important part of the community."

For more information, visit www.cvcommunitychest.com or call 724-452-4513.

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