United Way hosts Annual Meeting and Awards Celebration

In addition to its support of programs addressing the community’s immediate needs, Clark said the organization made big strides in its push to create long-term solutions to “root-cause” issues in the areas school readiness, high school graduation and financial stability.

Some of the highlights include:

School Readiness

• Partnered with Greenville First Steps and the SC Department of Social Services ABC Voucher Program to create the Greenville County Early Child Care Scholarship. The program will provide $225,000 over the next three years to help working families access high quality childcare.

High School Graduation

• Led the implementation of an Afterschool Strategic Initiative designed to ensure students have access to quality educational opportunities when school is out.

Financial Stability

• Coordinated efforts to create the Greenville County Individual Development Account, or IDA, Network. Pooling resources with partners at the Greenville Housing Fund, United Way successfully secured a $600,000 federal grant that will fund an innovative savings program designed to help low-income individuals save towards the purchase of a long-term asset, such as a home, higher education, or to start or expand a small business

• Received a grant totaling $286,000 for the next three years to place 27 AmeriCorps members in the community. The members are currently serving with local nonprofits to advance financial stability initiatives, ranging from tax preparation and financial literacy projects, to career coaching for students and grassroots community development.

Additional highlights include a record-setting Hands On Greenville (HOG) Day and a successful Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program.

Held on May 1, HOG Day 2010 engaged more than 5,400 volunteers in 300 community projects across Greenville County, making it the largest single day of service in the Upstate. 

United Way’s VITA program helped more than 2,100 individual and families with household incomes of $49,000 or less by providing free tax preparation services by trained, IRS-certified volunteers. The program collectively saved participants more than $320,000 in tax preparation fees and generated more than $2.1 million in tax return dollars back into the community.

Clark said these Community Impact successes would not have occurred without the community’s financial support during United Way’s annual campaigns, and the 2010 campaign will go a long way in ensuring future progress.

“The record-breaking $14.7 million campaign reflects the hard work and generous spirit of thousands of donors and volunteers,” said Clark. “For our part, United Way promises to be careful stewards of the resources you have generously shared with this community as we continue to help individuals and families in need right now, and work to prevent future need by building long-term cycles of success.”

During the awards portion of Thursday’s event, 2010 Campaign Chair Dick Wilkerson, president and chairman of Michelin North America, helped present more than 500 honors across four different categories. The recognitions included:

• The Campaign Award of Excellence to 339 companies and organizations that met two or more of the following award criteria: 10 percent increase in employee giving; $100 or more employee per capita; 50 percent or more employee participation; one or more Palmetto Society ($1,000 or more) members; and 50 percent of the contributors give at the Fair Share Level (1 percent or more of annual salary).

• The Chairman’s Award to 94 companies and organizations that met four of the award criteria listed above. 

• The Campaign Award of Advancement to 72 companies and organizations achieving a 25 percent increase in employee giving and 24 companies and organizations that achieved a 25 percent increase in employee participation. 

• The Campaign Premier Award to 15 companies and organizations completing a workplace campaign for the first time.

#1 Awards were also presented to seven companies whose outstanding support of the United Way placed them first in total employee contributions. 

• 2 to 24 Employees:  Integrated Power Systems, LLC
• 25 to 99 Employees:  Gallivan, White & Boyd, P.A.           
• 100-199 Employees:  Canal Insurance Company
• 200-499 Employees:  Baldor Electric Company                   
• 500-1,000 Employees:  Michelin Americas Research Company

Fluor Corporation won the #1 Award for the largest employee-only campaign at $946,612 – just ahead of Michelin North America at $939,898 and Greenville Hospital System at $910,085.

With corporate contributions included, Fluor and Michelin tied for the top overall campaign with each contributing an impressive $1,435,918 to the community during their 2010 United Way campaigns.

“When this community is faced with a challenge, when it sees clearly the level of need being experienced by our friends and neighbors and understands how United Way is working to help, the people of Greenville County will respond in record fashion,” said Wilkerson.

Also during Tuesday’s event, United Way of Greenville County’s board of trustees unanimously approved the nomination of 18 leaders to serve a three-year term on the volunteer board of trustees, as well as its slate of executive committee members for the coming year. The new board members are: James M. Bourey; Jim Burns; Pastor Sean Dogan; P. Edwin Good, Jr.; Jo Watson Hackl; James Curtis Harkness; Kenneth M. Harper; Michael J. Hayes; Ray A. Lattimore; Tami McKnew; Ann K. Robinson; Brian A. Rogers; Benjamin T. Rook; Caroline W. Schroder; R. Arthur Seaver; Susan T. Shi; Patricia Sullivan; and William R. Timmons III.

The 2011 executive committee is: W. Howard Boyd Jr. (chair); Richard Wilkerson (vice chair and chair-elect); Judith Aughtry (secretary); Jason Richards (treasurer); Margaret E. Clark (immediate past chair); Annette Allen (campaign chair); Michael J. Hayes (campaign vice chair); Ann K. Robinson (Community Impact chair); and C. Fredrick West (Community Impact vice chair).