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Event pictures can be viewed on our Facebook page and at UnitedWaySaginaw.org.
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Donors pledge more than $2.2 million to help create change in the community | |
Results from the 2012 annual giving campaign were announced at our campaign celebration event on Thursday, January 17 at Horizons Conference Center. Thanks to generous donations, we were able to raise $2,273,163 to support our work in the Saginaw County community.
"Our campaign volunteers diligently worked to keep funding to the agencies at a stable rate," said Cherrie Benchley, president/CEO. "Once again, in times of uncertainty the  generosity and dedication of our donors is overwhelming. We cannot say thank you enough," added Benchley.
Although we did not set a dollar goal for the community we wanted to be able to continue funding programs at the partner agencies at the same level we had been. Thanks to your support we will be able to continue funding 32 programs at our 19 partner agencies.
"These results truly demonstrate an awareness of the positive impact that United Way of Saginaw County and its partner agencies have on our community," said Jeff Martin, community relations leader for The Dow Chemical Company and 2012 campaign chair for United Way of Saginaw County. "Today's economic climate has created even greater needs in our communities; however ,the overwhelming support by so many businesses and individuals will allow United Way to continue to address these needs today and into the future," added Martin.
It was also announced at the event that Craig Goslin, president/managing partner for the Saginaw Spirit Hockey Club will be the Campaign Chair for the 2013 annual fundraising campaign.
Thank you to everyone who joined us for the campaign celebration and to all the individuals and businesses who help us create CHANGE in our community!
* View the Campaign Year in Review via YouTube
* View the 2012 Thank You Video via YouTube |
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Holiday Wish List Program - Thank You!
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Thanks to your help, close to 300 families and individuals in our community were able to have a brighter holiday season.
Here are just a few of the thank you responses we received from some of the recipients:
"I thank you so much. This year has been especially hard for me and when I received the phone call I cried in happiness to think that someone had done this for my family."
"On behalf of me and my family, we would like to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for the Christmas gifts that we received. Without your help my children wouldn't have had much of a Christmas."
"I want to thank you so much for helping me and my boys. I'm just so grateful for people like you who go out of their way to help families in need, including my family." |
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AmeriCorps Members Participate in MLK Day Community Service Projects
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In honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, our AmeriCorps  members took to the streets to make change. The members participated in two projects.
Partnering with Parishioners On Patrol and Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, the members organized an anti-crime, anti-violence and anti-drug march through the City of Saginaw. They marched from Saginaw Arts & Sciences Academy to the Dow Event Center. Upon reaching the Dow Event Center, they held a 30 minute rally with speakers from different organizations and churches to inspire the public to stop crime, violence and drug abuse.
Later that day, New Life Baptist Church hosted the group for an observance and celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Our members were able to reach out to more community members with substance abuse prevention information during and after the observance. Many of these attendees signed prevention pledges, wherein they committed to be more personally and communally active toward substance abuse prevention. |
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VITA Sites Delayed One Week
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Once again this year, free tax preparation will be available to Saginaw County residents who cannot afford to pay to have their taxes prepared for them, starting on Monday, February 4. Through the VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) program free tax preparation will be available at 10 locations throughout Saginaw County.
All Saginaw County VITA sites will officially open the week of February 4. Opening dates and times vary by location. Traditionally Saginaw County VITA sites have always opened the last week of January, however due to January tax law changes, the IRS materials would not be available until the following week.
Please visit our website for a full list of VITA sites, dates and times. |
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5 Minutes with UWSC 2012 Campaign Chair
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Name: Jeff Martin
Title: Community Relations Leader at The Dow Chemical Company
Where did you grow up? Saginaw
Family: My wife, Jane, and I have two children - Jordan (10) and Lauren (6)
Education: Western Michigan University - BA in Communications/ Political Science
Interests: Family, friends and community
Favorite book or movie: The next one that I read or watch
How/when did you become involved with United Way? I was always aware of the United Way organization and became involved with them earlier in my career working for state government. It wasn't until I joined The Dow Chemical Company that I realized the positive impact United Way has on our communities and not just in the Great Lakes Bay Region but throughout all our Dow sites around North America.
Favorite United Way Event/Program? The Dow Chemical Chili Cook-off, of course!
What was your favorite experience in your role as Campaign Chair? My favorite experience was having the opportunity and ability to build and implement a strategy around this year's mission to "Be the CHANGE". As a result, I had the opportunity of sitting down with many of Saginaw's greatest business leaders in an effort to provide a greater sense of awareness on the power of philanthropy and the positive impact it has on our communities and those that give. My second favorite was witnessing the 160 outstanding leaders in this community step up and participate in the "Dow New Leaders Match" raising more than $145,000 for this year's campaign!
Anything else you would like to mention: If you don't know, LEARN about the positive impact that United Way and its partner agencies have on our communities. PARTICIPATE with United Way and help them create a greater awareness with your employees and the community. By participating you automatically allow your employees the "opportunity" to GIVE, whether it be a gift, big or small, volunteering, or simply advocating for United Way. We can all "Be the CHANGE". Thank you Saginaw! |
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2013 Special Events Calendar | |
We know that you are super busy but be sure to check out our 2013 Special Events Calendar. This way you will have all the dates for our upcoming events ahead of time and can be sure to make it to your favorite United Way of Saginaw County event. |
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2013 Annual Meeting | |
Please join us as we celebrate and highlight our 2012 accomplishments and honor those who LIVE UNITED every day in our community at our Annual Meeting on April 18. Invitations will be mailed in March.
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This year United Way of Saginaw County received a "challenge" from our friends at The Dow Chemical Company. If we could get enough community leaders to step up and give a donation at one of our leadership levels or if they were already giving at a leadership level to increase their gift to the next level, then The Dow Chemical Company would provide a match of $25,000.
Not only did our community step up to this challenge, they exceeded our expectations. In the end, more than 160 "new leaders" pledged or increased their gift so we would receive the additional $25,000 match. Their total amount pledged was well over $145,000.
Thank you to all of our community leaders who stepped up so we could receive this match and create an even greater impact in the community! |
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Getting involved is fun! Here are a few highlighted volunteer opportunities in our community: | |
Marketing & development volunteers are needed to assist in the planning and implementation of special events, updating a contact database, assisting with mailing, completing follow-up calls to agencies and attending agency meetings.
Outpatient mental health therapist volunteers are need to provide outpatient treatment to adults in need.
Do you know how to write grants? If you have the skills needed for this volunteer position please consider giving a few hours of your time each month.
If you are interested in any of these volunteer opportunities or would like to get involved in the community, please contact Henrietta Watson at (989) 755-0505, ext. 216.
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| UCAN Classes being offered in Saginaw and Bay County | |
The Labor Liaisons from United Way of Saginaw and Bay County have teamed up to host Union Community Activist Network (UCAN) classes for labor members in both communities.
The classes are being held from January 15 through February 20. The goal of these classes is to educate our labor members on the resources we have in our counties. Classes also encourage giving, advocating and volunteering. The hope is that after attending the UCAN classes, members will be able to help inform their network of people with the community resources and information they learned.
2013 topics include the following:
- United Way Overview
- 2-1-1 Services
- Employee Assistance Programs (EAP)
- Healthcare Updates
- Legislation Updates
- Social Networking Overview
- Agency Resources
For more information or to find out how you can become involved with these classes, please contact Labor Liaison, Steve Lamb at (989) 755-0505, ext. 204. |
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Disney World Package Raffle | |
Our friends at Morley donated a Walt Disney World Package (valued at $4,500) for us to raffle off to the community to help with our annual fundraising campaign.
One ticket will be drawn on Wednesday, February 27 at 3 p.m. to see who wins the following:
- Four, round trip, coach-class airline tickets from your home city to Orlando, Florida
- Accommodations for four nights/five days at one of the four premier Disney properties
- Four, five-day Park Hopper tickets, which include the following theme parks: Epcot, Magic Kingdom, Disney's Hollywood Studios, Disney's Animal Kingdom
Tickets are available for $10 each or three for $25. They can be purchased by contacting United Way at (989) 755-0505 or you can click here to send us an email.
Tickets are nontransferable, available only to US residents and must be redeemed by December 15, 2013. Winner must be 21 years of age or older. The winner will be announced in our February newsletter. |
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