Warm Your Heart Honors Honors Pierce County Businesses for Outstanding Community Involvement

TACOMA , Wash. – Nearly 500 volunteers, businesses and donors celebrated the accomplishments of the community at the United Way of Pierce County Warm Your Heart Victory Celebration held Tuesday night at the Greater Tacoma Convention & Trade Center in Tacoma.

United Way honored several organizations for their role in the community campaign, giving their highest honor – the Spirit of Pierce County award - to Simpson. This award recognizes a broad-based, year-long community involvement and campaign excellence demonstrated by an organization. Previous winners include Boeing Employees Community Fund, Russell Investment Group and Tacoma Public Utilities.

In addition to surpassing their campaign goals in 2005, Simpson employees embraced volunteerism. More than 60 skilled workers from Simpson volunteered for United Way’s Day of Caring. Their project included installing dry wall and helping renovate homes for Network Tacoma over several days. In addition they helped build a playground fro Helping Hand House in Puyallup and assisted with projects at L’Arche Tahoma Hope.

Simpson is a strong supporter of the Back to School program which provides backpacks and school supplies for low-income children.

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

NEW COORDINATOR OF THE YEAR AWARD: Jerry Anderson from Pierce Transit
NEW COORDINATOR TEAM OF THE YEAR: Baxter-Hobart Bakery Systems
WORKING TOGETHER AWARD : Longshore Workers Union Local 23 and Totem Ocean Trailer Express
AGENCY SPEAKER OF THE YEAR : Wendy Sonnemann
INNOVATION AWARD : State Farm
THE NONPROFIT CAMPAIGN PARTNER OF THE YEAR AWARD : Catholic Community Services THE PUBLIC SECTOR PARTNER OF THE YEAR : Puyallup School District
SMALL BUSINESS OF THE YEAR : Brown & Brown Insurance
LEADERSHIP GIVING CAMPAIGN OF THE YEAR AWARD : Russell Investment Group
COORDINATOR TEAM OF THE YEAR : J.C. Penney Distribution Center
COORDINATOR OF THE YEAR AWARD : Mark Wenzel from Bethel School District
CAMPAIGN OF THE YEAR AWARD: Russell Investment Group
SPIRIT OF PIERCE COUNTYAWARD: Simpson

Complete list of nominees

In addition, United Way announced a charitable giving total of $12,195,529 and highlighted achievements made toward improving housing availability, child and youth development and access to healthcare. The total includes $ 9,377,000 of projected dollars raised through the United Way community campaign, Combined Federal Campaign, and Washington State Combined Fund Drive.

Apart from funds raised through the annual community campaign, United Way leaders are excited to announce additional gifts totaling $2,818,529 from other community efforts. They include $256,686 worth of volunteer time to complete more than 100 community projects facilitated by United Way; $25,698 through the Season of Caring program providing gifts and food for needy families during the holidays; $27,630 through the Back to School initiative, which provides school supplies and clothes for children living in poverty; an endowment of $30,000 from the Willie Stewart Community Service Golf Classic for youth scholarships, $1,853,294 from Gifts In Kind (donated products); an unrestricted bequest for $614,200 and a $11,021 grant for special program services.

The dollars raised will be put to use in the Pierce County area, though local agency programs selected by United Way volunteers. Local citizen volunteers decide where to best invest donor dollars for the most impact on critical issues in our community. Examples are programs at the YWCA, Centro Latino, Lakewood Area Shelter Association, Helping Hand House in Puyallup and Children’s Home Society

Craig Ueland, President and CEO of Russell Investment Group, was introduced as the campaign chair for 2006. Ueland unveiled a matching program that could bring in an additional $3 million in 2006. The initiative conceived by Ueland and funded by regional partners including Ueland, Russell Investment Group, George Russell and others would match all new contributions to the Community Solutions Fund for 2006.

For more information, please contact UWPC at 253-272-4263 or visit us at www.uwpc.org.

Donors Boost United Way - by Paul Sand, The News Tribune