On Wednesday, September 4th, United Way of Chittenden County held a celebration of community service with nearly 400 business leaders, volunteers and human service providers during the third annual Building Block Awards ceremony at the LIVE UNITED Celebration Breakfast, which signaled the beginning of United Way of Chittenden County's 2013 Community Campaign. At the event, United Way of Chittenden County honored 89 community-nominated individuals for volunteerism and presented the fifth annual ADVOCATE Award.
"The LIVE UNITED Celebration is a powerful demonstration of the strength of our community and how we are working together to transform our quality of life," stated Martha Maksym, UWCC Executive Director. "The dedication of these volunteers is critical to our mission to innovate and support solutions to the complex social issues that affect all of us. We invest in over 60 programs and 30 local nonprofit member agencies, engage partners across sectors in a host of strategic initiatives and mobilize hundreds of volunteers to do work that could not otherwise be done with limited staff and resources. The work we do improves the lives of Vermonters in every town in Chittenden County." View our 2013 Impact Report to learn more about how United Way invests in Education, Income and Health.
United Way's Fifth Annual ADVOCATE award was presented to Skip Gates and US Attorney Tristram Coffin for their tireless advocacy speaking out about opiate and heroin addiction and creating the documentary film "The Opiate Effect." The film memorializes Gates' son Will, a UVM student who died from heroine overdose in 2009, and spotlights the harsh reality of opiate addiction and its effects.
2013 Community Campaign Chairperson Tammy Shannon also announced this year's community fundraising goal of $3.9 million. Shannon leads over 100 volunteer ambassadors that will unite and inspire local businesses and their employees to donate to United Way of Chittenden County through a workplace campaign and individual contributions. Tammy Shannon is the Director of Advertising for FreePressMedia.
Sharing a story of personal struggle and community support, Shannon extended a heartfelt invitation to join her in achieving this goal. "By supporting United Way of Chittenden County, you will provide the chance for everyone in this community to have a safe, healthy and productive life -- an opportunity that most of us in this room have, but too many in our community do not. Your contributions will give little girls like I was, and all those who struggle to survive, a chance to know stability, a reality that each and every one in this community deserves."