Thank You Berks County!
In a remarkable showing of generosity, Berks Countians once again turned out in droves to help United Way meet the most critical needs in our community by raising $8,501,035.
"This was a challenging year," said Steve Schumacher, who co-chaired this year's campaign with his wife, Pam. "But we've seen time and time again that Berks County is a very generous community. We're extremely grateful to everyone who came together to help us achieve our goal."
"The needs in this community are greater than ever," said Tammy White, United Way president, "but LIVE UNITED is a call to action, and we saw an amazing display of that LIVE UNITED spirit this year. Our success results from the hard work of so many - our tremendous leadership, our volunteers, and the businesses, organizations and individuals who make our efforts possible."
In addition to thanking everyone involved in helping to reach the goal of $8.5 million, United Way also announced the winners of the 2009 incentives at the recent Victory Celebration:
2009 Chevy Cobalt, courtesy of Golden Dealerships and IBEW Local 743 - Anne Brueck, Daniel Boone School District
Trip to San Francisco, courtesy of AAA Reading-Berks Travel Services - Rachel Wiswesser, Elite Sportswear
3-minute Shopping Spree, courtesy of Associated Wholesalers, Inc. and Shurfine Markets - David Schwab, Teleflex Medical, Inc.
Plasma TV, courtesy of Boscov's, Inc. - Jeffrey Taylor, Carpenter Technology
$1000 combined gift cards, courtesy of VF Outlet and CTCE Federal Credit Union - Shirley Breininger, VIST Financial
Gift Baskets, courtesy of Godiva Chocolatiers - Janet Hartwich, Exeter Township School District; Marc Sydney Felder, City of Reading; Robert Buehrer, Carpenter Technology; Larry Berkert, EnerSys Inc.; and Debra Rhoads, The Reading Hospital and Medical Center
Another highlight of the evening included the announcement of the 2009 "Most Valuable Partners." This award is presented to organizations that achieve the highest percentage increase in the 2009 campaign. The 2009 MVPs will be publicly recognized at United Way Night at the Reading Royals on December 5. The winners are:
500+ employees - Reading School District
101 - 499 employees - Tulpehocken Area School District
100 or fewer employees - Merrill Lynch and United Community Services
We are also grateful to the following companies and organizations, whose collective sponsorship allowed United Way to carry out key campaign activities:
CTCE Federal Credit Union
East Penn Manufacturing Co., Inc.
Entech Engineering, Inc.
EthoSource
Fulton Bank
PACE Institute
Phoenix/Packaging, Inc.
Precision Medical Products, Inc.
Reading Phillies Baseball Club
Stevens & Lee and Griffin Financial Group
UGI Utilities, Inc.
VF Outlet
White Star Tours