We're sure glad the political campaign is pretty much over.

But we're glad the United Way campaign is not.

Nearly halfway into the campaign, only $1.5 million of the $4.5 million goal has been received or pledged.

We've got some work to do.

This is not a feel-good, rah-rah editorial. This is serious -- maybe a life-and-death situation for some.

Please, do not be fooled by the United Way's big-time name and glossy image. It would not exist without you and your gifts, however generous or modest. The United Way is nothing without you.

And in truth, the United Way is just the front-man for a great number of very deserving non-profit agencies that deliver an amazing range of critical health and human services to some of our community's most vulnerable folks.

In the case of the United Way of the CSRA, it means funding 60 programs at 18 partner agencies. And believe us -- we're familiar with most of the agencies funded by the United Way -- many of them exist day to day, and all of them do their humanitarian work on a shoestring.

Moreover, not only does the United Way campaign reduce the amount of charitable requests in the community, but it also acts as your skeptical accountant: Every agency is carefully screened and monitored, and every dollar passed on to a United Way agency is tracked for effectiveness. The United Way expects accountability for how your gifts are used, and gets it.

The United Way needs your help now more than anytime in memory.

With unemployment rising and tough economic times for everyone as far as the eye can see, our ability to help our friends and neighbors will be pinched on both sides: There will be a growing need for help, and a diminished capacity on the part of those in a position to provide it.

That necessarily means those of us blessed enough to be able to help need to bring an unprecedented urgency to it.

Those who believe in smaller government and individual freedom should feel a particular urgency. If we want less government intrusion in our lives, we need to do all we can to fulfill unmet human needs in our community through the efficiency of the private sector.

If you feel that fund-raising campaigns are sometimes coercive, consider the alternative: the less-than-gentle compulsion of government.

For our part, we choose the voluntary nature of self-help through the United Way. We urge you to do the same.

Those who have given in the past, we hope you can dig a little deeper to help meet the increasing needs of our neighbors.

For those of you who have never contributed to the United Way: It's never needed you more. To get where we need to be at campaign's end in February, we'll need a number of first-time donors to step forward.

Ask about it at work, or contact the United Way directly at 706-724-5544.

This is one campaign we do for ourselves.