Community celebrates record-setting United Way Campaign. AcuSport and Vectren take home the Traveling Trophies.
United Way of Logan County recognized its corporate partners and individual donors at an Awards Breakfast Wednesday January 31 at Green Hills Community in West Liberty. The ceremony culminated another record-setting campaign in which donors pledged $951,806 to the local non-profit, shattering the $850,000 goal. It marks a 14.6 percent increase over last year and the sixth consecutive year of increased giving to United Way.
The big difference is attributable in large part to the generosity at NEX Transport, where leadership mindfully instituted a focused fundraising effort last spring. $102,822 was pledged, half by associates and half by a 100 percent corporate match. That was a $99,000 increase over last year.
"We have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of support and generosity throughout the Campaign!" exclaimed United Way Campaign Co-Chairs Rick and Jill Hatcher. "We have lived in Logan County most of our lives and have been proud to call it home. But at this time I don't think we could be any more proud. So many of the great people who live here realize that through the support of the United Way, we can address the needs of our fellow citizens and make our community an even better place to live! So thank you, thank you Logan County for another great United Way Campaign."
The coveted Traveling Trophies, which are awarded to the large and small workplace with the highest giving per capita were taken home by AcuSport Corporation (Large Business Division of more than 100 employees) and Vectren (Small Business Division with fewer than 100 employees). AcuSport has earned this award every year of its existence. This year, they raised $104,932, achieving the $100,000 milestone for the second consecutive year. Vectren earns the honors for the first time ever, with a whopping $1,125 per capita gift among their six Bellefontaine location employees.
Honda of America, Mfg. continues to lead the area in United Way giving by dollar amount, with $173,792 in associate and corporate pledges designated to Logan County from their $1.4 million effort. After AcuSport and NEX, Honda Transmission sent $66,908 in donor designations and corporate matches to United Way of Logan County. AGC Glass rounds out the top five, experiencing a 33 percent increase in their campaign to achieve $55,349.
Since 1955, United Way of Logan County has raised more than $22 million to support the specific social service needs of our community.
With the money, United Way fights for the education, health, and financial stability of every person in Logan County. 42 programs of 28 Funded Agencies are being supported in 2018 by United Way allocations. Thanks to increased giving, 13 Funded Agencies will receive more support than last year, as $102,000 more than a year ago has already been reinvested back into the community. The biggest needs being addressed by United Way dollars include housing (with $105,000 being split by Catholic Charities Helping Hands rent and utility assistance program, the Lighthouse Emergency Homeless Shelter, and Habitat for Humanity), hunger (with $101,602 being split between Lutheran Community Services Our Daily Bread soup kitchen, Second Harvest Food Bank's mobile food pantry, LifeCare Alliance's meals-on-wheels, and Logan County Neighborhood Outreach's summer food program for kids), and drugs (with $74,801 being split by Recovery Zone, Consolidated Care, and Logan County CORE, the local coalition working to combat the opioid epidemic).
Besides CORE, there are two additional new Funded Agencies this year, including the Bellefontaine Police Department and Logan County Sheriff's Office, where United Way dollars will be used for outreach events in local neighborhoods to help law enforcement build relationships that will reduce crime and increase safety.
In addition, $80,000 has been made available for use throughout the year for additional organizations to access through United Way's Community Impact and Youth Allocations Grant Funds.
Beyond 2018, United Way unveiled a newly adopted five-year Strategic Plan designed to focus future funding on three over-arching community needs while increasing the capacity of the organization. Substance Abuse, Financial Stability, and Workforce Readiness will receive increased attention from United Way in coming years, with bold goals established to make measurable impact on each issue. Internally, United Way will focus on establishing an Endowment Fund, to provide more outreach to outlying areas of Logan County, and to increase volunteer opportunities for individuals and groups.
"I believe this plan is so impactful because our three external goals are so intertwined and have an impact on one another," said Dawn Beelman, United Way Board President. "Making progress in Workforce Readiness leads to Financial Stability and a sense of purpose that hopefully deters Substance Abuse. Making an impact on these issues not only helps our residents dealing with these problems it helps the entire community. Meeting our three internal goals will strengthen our United Way operations and help us to focus on the external goals. The important thing to know is that we are still supporting our Funded Agencies and will continue to do so just as we have in the past. We want to encourage those agencies to develop programs that address our goals."
The following workplaces earned Gold Campaign Awards, achieving at least 60 percent employee participation, a $200 or higher average employee gift, or a 100 percent corporate match: AcuSport Corporation; AGC Glass; Bellefontaine City Schools; Belletech Corporation; Citizens Federal Savings & Loan; Civista Bank; Consolidated Care; Honda Transmission Mfg.; Liberty National Bank; Logan County Department of Job & Family Services; Logan County Electric Cooperative; Logan County Family Court; Lutheran Community Services; NetGain Information Systems; NEX Transport; PowerBuilt; Precision Custom Products; Smith Smith Montgomery & Chamberlain; Steve Austin's Auto Group; Thomas & Marker Construction; Thompson Dunlap & Heydinger; Vectren; V-Teck Communications; and World Class Plastics.
The following workplaces earned Silver Campaign Awards, achieving at least 50 percent employee participation or a $150 or higher average employee gift: American Solutions for Business; City of Bellefontaine; Green Hills Community; Honda of America Mfg.; Logan County Board of Developmental Disabilities; Logan County Chamber of Commerce; Mary Rutan Hospital; Ohio Hi-Point Career Center; PNC; Riverside Local Schools; SpartanNash Company; and Zimmerman Realty.
The following workplaces earned Bronze Campaign Awards, achieving at least 40 percent employee participation or a $100 or higher average employee gift: Benjamin Logan Schools; Choice Properties Real Estate; Farm Credit Mid America; Indian Lake Local Schools; Logan County Engineer's Office; and RTC Industries.
The following workplaces earned Good Neighbor Awards, given to select entities that participate with United Way but do not conduct a traditional workplace campaign: Bellefontaine Examiner; Lewis & Dorothy Tamplin Trust; Robinson Investments; and Shine FM.
For a complete list of 2018 Funded Agencies and their allocation amount, please click here.
To see the Event Program from the LIVE UNITED Awards Breakfast, please click here.
For more photos from the LIVE UNITED Awards Breakfast, please visit our Facebook page.
United Way's local Campaign totals have increased six straight years from 2012 to 2017 for a 53% increase in annual giving.
2011: $622,411
2012: $663,401
2013: $677,860
2014: $700,689
2015: $725,268
2016: $830,199
2017: $951,806
United Way fights for the health, education, and financial stability of everyone in Logan County. It does so by facilitating successful agency partnerships that enable a safe, healthy, and caring community. More than just a fundraiser, United Way collaborates with businesses, non-profits, government, and civic organizations to help meet the social service needs of the community.
For more information, call us at (937) 592-2886.
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