Dick Wilkerson: Record effort reflects community's compassion

By Dick Wilkerson
Originally published 11/20/2010 in The Greenville News (subscription required)

When we kicked off United Way’s 2010 campaign two months ago, the volunteer leadership and I asked the community to respond to the record need being experienced in Greenville County with record giving. And respond, they did.

Last week, we were proud to announce the community had raised more than $14.7 million  – surpassing our goal of $14.6 million and achieving the highest total in United Way of Greenville County’s 88-year history.

But its place in the history books is not the sole reason we are so proud of this campaign. This year’s tally is important because it is a tremendous reflection of Greenville County’s caring spirit, and perhaps more significantly, it’s important because we know the powerful impact those resources can have on the lives of our friends and neighbors, so many of whom are struggling in this still difficult economy.

It is important because we believe in United Way’s work to help people in need right now through the support of 86 local programs, which provide a range of services to nurture our children, guide our youth, strengthen our families, improve our health and help us in times of crisis.

And it is important because we believe in United Way’s long-term work to eliminate future needs by addressing key issues of school readiness for our children, high school graduation for our youth and financial stability for us all.

This is a great achievement for Greenville County – an achievement made possible, first and foremost, by the commitment and compassion of the people in this community. I know this deep level of giving came as a sacrifice to many. At a time when all of us are watching our spending a little closer, the community decided to reach out a helping hand to help those who may be struggling even more.

Driving the campaign to success were our volunteers. Rallied together by a shared belief in the importance of United Way’s work in our community, more than 1,300 people volunteered their time and energy.

Our Campaign Coordinators deserve extra special thanks for their effort. These are the folks at the ground level who led the individual workplace campaigns. They organized a multitude of meetings, totaled their company’s results, and saw to every detail, big and small, of the campaign.

Of particular note this year were the campaigns at Michelin North America and Fluor Corporation, which both surpassed $1 million. Additionally, more than 200 workplaces increased their giving this past year and eleven companies organized United Way campaigns for the first time this year.

We had three companies whose employees raised more than $500,000 – GE Energy, Greenville Hospital System and Greenville County Schools.

Five companies had more than a $75,000 increase in giving during this year’s campaign.  They are Michelin North America, Fluor Corporation, GE Energy, Bon Secours St. Francis Health System and Hartness International.

We can also report that 28 companies grew their workplace campaigns by 20 percent or more and 139 companies reported a 5 percent increase or more in giving.

Their combined efforts were nothing less than extraordinary and we can’t thank them enough for their generosity.

We cannot choose the times in which we live, but we can choose how we live in the times we are given. Through this campaign, we have demonstrated that we choose to “Live United” and give back to the community and the people who need us most right now.

You may be familiar with United Way’s call to action, “Give. Advocate. Volunteer. LIVE UNITED.” If you were among the 40,000-plus contributors to this year’s campaign, you have the “Give” covered. I invite you to stay involved and engaged with United Way throughout the year by advocating for issues critical to the future of our community and by taking advantage of some of the many opportunities to volunteer provided by United Way’s Hands On Greenville. If you didn’t have a chance to be a part of the campaign this year, you may still give online.

I would like to congratulate all of our volunteers and donors on a record-breaking campaign, and your commitment to making Greenville an even better community. Thank you for helping us achieve our goal.

Dick Wilkerson, president and chairman of Michelin North America, is a United Way volunteer and served as Chair of the 2010 campaign. For more information on United Way of Greenville County, visit www.unitedwaygc.org.