United Way launches 2010 community campaign
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Approximately 1,100 volunteers and representatives from local businesses and organizations attended the annual kickoff celebration Tuesday at the Carolina First Center, where the campaign’s volunteer leadership rallied support for a record-setting effort.
“We put a lot of careful thought into establishing our goal for the 2010 campaign,” said Campaign Chair Dick Wilkerson, president and chairman of Michelin North America. “Many factors played into the decision, the most important of which is the question of what we need to do to best meet the needs of Greenville County. The answer to that was obvious. Two years of harsh economic conditions have created tough times for many. We see record need out there, so it’s up to us as a caring, generous community to band together and lend a hand to those in need with a record campaign of $14.6 million.”
Campaign Vice Chair Annette Allen of Fluor Corporation announced that 23 Pacesetter companies — those companies which “set the pace” for the campaign by starting fundraising efforts prior to the official kickoff — have turned in employee pledges totaling $3,383,627, 23 percent of the overall goal. (Click here to see the complete Pacesetter results)
Allen said the figure represents an 8 percent increase in employee giving over last year’s Pacesetter numbers. Not included in the total is an additional $1 million expected to be contributed from the Pacesetter companies in the form of corporate gifts and matches.
“These companies were selected as Pacesetters because of their past commitment to conducting highly organized, effective and creative campaigns with challenging goals,” said Allen. “The employee campaigns at our Pacesetter companies have us off to a tremendous start.”
Dollars raised in the campaign will be used to fund United Way’s efforts to strengthen Greenville County by: 1) helping people in need right now through the funding of 86 local programs working to nurture children, help and encourage youth success, strengthen families and neighborhoods, improve our community’s health, and assist people in times of crisis; and 2) helping eliminate future needs by building strategies and mobilizing partners to improve school readiness for young children, increase high school graduation rates for youth and create financial stability for all.
A few examples of the important work being done include collaboration with Greenville Hospital System Children’s Hospital and other statewide partners on the development of the South Carolina Institute for Child Success, a planned center for research and demonstration of best practices for child development located in Greenville County; expansion of the Graduate Greenville program with Greenville County Schools and the Alliance for Quality Education, which helps students at risk of dropping out of high school to stay in school and graduate; and the further growth of United Way’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program, which provided free tax preparation services to 2,147 low and middle income taxpayers this year.
“Supporting these programs and initiatives is a fundamental part of what we do as a caring community,” said Margaret Clark, chair of the United Way board of trustees. “And with many of these programs and agencies seeing record levels of need, it’s never been more critical to make sure they can continue their important work.”
Wilkerson’s brother, retired Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Thomas L. Wilkerson, currently the chief executive officer of the United States Naval Institute, delivered the keynote address at Tuesday’s event, which also featured the premiere of United Way’s 2010 campaign video. For the 14th consecutive year, Erwin-Penland, Inc., provided pro-bono creative input and direction to help United Way tell its story through an innovative video and print campaign.
The campaign runs through Oct. 29, with a final report meeting scheduled for Nov 9. Please call 864-467-3537 to find out how you and your company can get involved, or to donate now, click here.
