eNews from United Way of Pierce County

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Top Community Volunteers, Organizations Honored

*Spirit of Pierce County Award Winner Columbia Bank*

United Way of Pierce County honored key volunteers and organizations who embody the spirit of LIVE UNITED at the annual Community Celebration April 27.

Columbia Bank received the night's highest honor, the Spirit of Pierce County Award, for their demonstration of the highest standards of civic engagement and community-based philanthropy.

In addition, Dr. Artee Young and Mina Saudagaran were named Community Volunteers of the Year for their involvement in the community and Youth United respectively.

Other companies and individuals were honored based on outstanding campaign results, high degree of voluntary employee participation and strong community involvement.

Award winners included:

Campaign Volunteer of the Year
Steve Rodrigues, Baxter-Hobart
Rebecca Stover, Pierce County Government

Campaign of the Year - Public Sector
Tacoma Public Utilities

Campaign of the Year - Private Sector - Companies with less than 100 employees
NuStar Energy

Campaign of the Year - Private Sector- Companies with more than 100 employees

Costco Wholesale - Puyallup

Community Partner of the Year
Unico Properties

The Community Celebration was presented by Union Bank of California, and sponsored by Columbia Bank, Key Bank, Staging Techniques and the Boeing Company.

View photos from the event on Flickr.

UWPC Celebrates 2009 Achievements

United Way of Pierce County also celebrated the accomplishments of the last year.

Highlights included:

$8.8 million raised during the community campaign

$1 million in Gifts In Kind donations

$90,000 in Seasonal Giving through Back-to-School and Season of Caring

Nearly 200,000 hours of volunteer time, valued at $4 million by national standards

116 programs funded through United Way of Pierce County

$1.187 million raised through the Combined Federal Campaign and $250,000 through the Combined Fund Drive

76,724 people helped through South Sound 2-1-1

222 Students received a varsity letter in Community Service

Thanks to our loyal donors, volunteers, loaned executives, agency partners, corporate partners and community champions for making these successes possible.

New Leadership Introduced

Board Chair Mady Murrey
United Way of Pierce County introduced the new board and campaign chairs for 2010 at April's Community Celebration. Mady Murrey of Mary Bridge Children's Hospital will take the reigns as Board Chair while Bill Gaines of Tacoma Public Utilities will lead the 2010 campaign as Campaign Chair.

Murrey has been a member of United Way of Pierce County's

*Campaign Chair Bill Gaines*

Board of Directors since 2007. From the beginning of her tenure, she has been an active and vocal member of the board, serving on the Executive and Board Operations committees.

Gaines became the director of TPU in 2007 and has developed an exceptional record of success and accomplishment in his 30 years in the utility business.

Find out more about Mady Murrey and Bill Gaines at our web site.

Columbia Bank Named 2009 Spirit of Pierce County Winner

Generous. Enthusiastic. Community-minded. Passionate. Committed. These are all words that describe Columbia Bank. From their record-breaking campaign to their active employees, this organization generously gives back to the community. In 2009, the participated in LIVE UNITED day and Leadership Day of Caring, had employees on multiple local boards, sponsored a Loaned Executive, conducted drives for food and items for homeless teens and held auctions to raise money for the community.

During their campaign, they took on the added challenge of new branches throughout the Pacific Northwest. Members of Columbia Bank's management attended many of the presentations and coordinator Mike Nelson made sure every branch was reached. Their efforts paid off as Columbia Bank rallied to increase their campaign
by 33%.

Columbia bank goes beyond GIVING generously to many causes, they ADVOCATE as agency board members and they VOLUNTEER to make a difference. Columbia Bank LIVES UNITED and that is why they are the 2009 Spirit of Pierce County award winner.
Congratulations Columbia Bank.

Upcoming Events

ACT NOW Volunteer Project - May 13th

Volunteer with ACT NOW at Tacoma Avenue Shelter from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Help make sandwiches for clients.

FIND OUT MORE

Leadership Day of Caring - May 19th

Join us for a morning of volunteering! Lend your muscle and learn more about our community.

United Way night at the Tacoma Rainiers - August 15th