Big win: United Way campaign tops $4.5M goal
Plus, some this and that.
Support for this edition comes from Purdue Musical Organizations, presenting the 92nd annual Purdue Christmas Show. The Christmas Show will shine Boilermaker bright with an all-student cast, festive music and dazzling performances. Tickets are now on sale for the Dec. 6-7 shows, where audiences of all ages will come together to celebrate the spirit of the holiday season at this timeless Purdue tradition. Get your tickets here.
UNITED WAY CAMPAIGN TOPS $4.5M GOAL
Chalk up a big win Thursday for the United Way of Greater Lafayette, which ended its 2025 campaign by topping its $4.5 million goal set in August.
The final tally: $4,504,067.
6-7, 6-7 …
The campaign total was up from the $4.46 million raised by the end of its 2024 campaign to help fund two dozen community nonprofit agencies in Greater Lafayette.
Virginia Vought, chair of the 2025 United Way campaign, told supporters during a campaign celebration Thursday night that hitting the goal came down to the final hours that day.
“On Monday, we were about $370,000 down, and there was no good reason to think that we would meet the goal today,” Vought told a crowd at the Purdue Railyard coworking space in West Lafayette. “Everyone just got busy. … I am so moved by this special community.”
The United Way helps support these agencies: The American Red Cross; Bauer Family Resources; Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Lafayette; Scouting America Sagamore Council; Boys & Girls Clubs of Tippecanoe County; Food Finders Food Bank; Girl Scouts of Central Indiana; Hanna Center; Heartford House; Homestead Services; Junior Achievement of Northern Indiana; LARA Achievement of Northern Indiana; Legal Aid Corp. of Tippecanoe County; LTHC Homeless Services; Mental Health America-Wabash Valley Region; NAMI West Central Indiana; Riggs Community Health Center; Right Steps Child Development Centers; The Salvation Army; Tippecanoe Senior Services; Lafayette Family YMCA; YWCA Greater Lafayette; Willowstone Family Services; and Wabash Center.
“Frankly, every one of the agency directors and staff will tell you this has been a very rough year and they don’t know what’s going to happen next year,” David Bathe, United Way of Greater Lafayette CEO, said. “So, what you have done to support them in this campaign encourages them to move forward.”
To give to the 2025 campaign, go to: www.uwlafayette.org/donate.
Side note: Thanks to Based in Lafayette readers who stepped up in the past week to chip in $3,133 toward that total in last week’s promotion. I’ll have the free month added to your BiL subscription in the coming days. The deal is still good, if you’re up for it: Give any amount to the 2025 United Way campaign, get a free month of Based in Lafayette. Use this link: https://bit.ly/basedinlafayette
Pop-up sale: Now through the weekend, take 20% your first year of a full-access subscription to Based in Lafayette. Good for new subscribers, including gift subscriptions. Here’s how …
THIS AND THAT/OTHER READS …
MAN KILLED BY POLICE IN EARLY FRIDAY SHOOTING: A man was shot and killed by a Lafayette police officer early Friday morning on east side of the city, police reported. The man who was shot and the officers involved were not immediately identified by police. According to an LPD account, the shooting happened in the 200 block of Porsche Lane, in the Waterford Court Apartment complex off Frontage Road, just east of I-65. Police say the man had been pulled over around 12:25 a.m. Friday on Sagamore Parkway on suspicion of impaired driving. Police say the man “made statements indicating a risk of harm to himself” before fleeing the scene in his vehicle. Police later found the car at the apartment complex at 1:16 a.m. Friday. Police say LPD officers and Indiana State Police troopers confronted him there, where they say the man said he was armed. Police say he was shot after he reached for his waistband behind his back “as if he was preparing to brandish a weapon.” The man died on the scene, police reported. No police officers were injured. LPD reported that the officers involved were placed on administrative leave, according to department policies. The Tippecanoe County coroner is expected to release the name of the man killed once next of kin have been notified.
THANKSGIVING FARMERS MARKET SATURDAY: The Lafayette Farmers Market, which ended its regular season in October, will be open for its Thanksgiving market from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 23, along Fifth Street in downtown Lafayette.
COMMUNITY THANKSGIVING NEEDS: Lafayette Urban Ministry’s 39th annual Community Thanksgiving will be serving noon-2 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 27 at Central Presbyterian Church, 31 N. Seventh St. It’s free and open to all in an event expected to serve 800 meals.
LUM put out some last-minute call for urgent needs for the meal, including: dinner rolls, ready-to-serve four dozen; stuffing/dressing, fully prepared in 13-by-21 disposable pans; green bean casserole, fully prepared in 13-by-21 disposable pans; canned yams, corn, green beans and cranberry sauce; cherry pies; all-purpose cleaning spray; bottled water; 47-gallon trash bags; Sterno chafer fuel cans; iced tea; lemonade; and turkey gravy powder.
For details and for other donation and volunteer opportunities for the Thanksgiving dinner, check LUM’s site at: www.lumserve.org/programs/food-programs/thanksgiving.
ICYMI … IT’S TIM’S PICKS: Trying to make it through to Thanksgiving? Tim’s Picks is here to help line things up.
Thanks, again, for support for this edition from Purdue Musical Organizations, presenting the 92nd annual Purdue Christmas Show Dec. 6-7. Get your tickets here.
Thank you for supporting Based in Lafayette, an independent, local reporting project. Free and full-ride subscription options are ready for you here. And now through the weekend, it’s …
Tips, story ideas? I’m at davebangert1@gmail.com.