BUTLER TWP — The United Way of Butler County kicked off its campaign season with tricycle races Thursday morning.

While that fundraiser was a playful event, the campaign is significant for Butler County residents.

The organization plans to raise $1.65 million this year to help thousands of people throughout the county.

Last year it raised $1.48 million, which was $200,000 short of its goal.

“We did not achieve our goal last year and we want to make up for that,” said Judy Brinkman, site manger at BASF plant in Evans City and campaign chairman.

Brinkman said the funding goes beyond simply meeting an organizational goal.

“There were a lot of people we were not able to help last year because of a lack of funding,” Brinkman said.

The money raised through this year’s campaign, which will run into early next spring, will go to 40 programs through 26 agencies.

Leslie Osche, United Way executive director, said one of the biggest goals of the United Way is to support education.

Nearly half of all the programs on its agenda this year are for education, with $481,000 of the budget dedicated to them.

“We really work to support various educational programs in the community,” Osche said.

Educational programs benefit groups such as Big Brothers Big Sisters, the Boy Scouts of America and the Butler YMCA.

The Paul Laurence Dunbar Community Center receives a $40,000 grant from the United Way to help fund its programs for children.

“The United Way has always helped with funding our programs,” said Heather Davenport, a programs coordinator with the center. “They also help us find other avenues for funding.”

One of the programs the United Way supports is the center’s after-school initiative, which supplies snacks and dinner at Center Avenue and Broad Street elementary schools.

Another major cause the United Way backs is financial stability.

About $457,000 of its budget is designated to these programs, which include disaster relief through the American Red Cross and homelessness causes.

The United Way also supports programs that connect people to services.

One of these is the 2-1-1 telephone program, which covers southwestern Pennsylvania. About $30,000 goes to this program, which offers residents information on available services, including health and human services.

The remaining funds go for donations to agencies and for administration. Of the $1.65 million budget, just $140,000 goes for administrative fees.

With the campaign starting up, the next event for the United Way is its Week of Caring, which will be the week of Oct. 14 to 18.

During that week, the United Way will organize hundreds of individuals and businesses to complete hands-on volunteer projects.

Last year 240 volunteers completed projects for 11 nonprofit agencies.