United Way of Kent County recognized and celebrated “Volunteer of the Year” award recipients at its annual meeting and breakfast at Heron Point on Tuesday April 3rd. Awardees from the 23 UWKC member agencies were selected by their respective organizations’ boards of directors and received UWKC umbrellas. New UWKC board members were introduced and departing board members were thanked.
UWKC (unitedwayofkentcounty.org) last year added four member agencies [Good Neighbor Fund, Playmaker Camp at the Prince Theater, Rebuilding Together, and Townsend Memorial Medical Clinic] to its existing group of 19 approved and vetted organizations in order to provide additional funding assistance to critical county services. Barrie Frazier, Executive Director of UWKC, notes that the number of member agencies for which UWKC raises money has nearly doubled since 1999, reflecting the growing needs in the county, a growth in the number of agencies responding to the county’s critical needs, and finally, the growing capacity of UWKC to raise funds to assist more agencies.
UWKC board president Bill Noll states that “the country – and Kent County in particular – is experiencing difficult economic times, and we have modified our campaign goals to reflect not only the ongoing economic downturn but also the fact that the need for the critical services categories we support, namely, investing in youth, crisis intervention, emergency services, and fostering self-sufficiency, has never been greater.”
Noll added that “our donors and the agencies we fund are all local and visible, and the needs of our community have never been more demonstrable.” He reaffirmed that “your UWKC strives to and succeeds at keeping administrative costs to an absolute minimum, ensuring efficiency and maximum “value” for every dollar donated.” Noll further commented that “Kent County is extremely fortunate to have an ethic of both personal and, through payroll deduction programs, corporate charitable giving. United Way of Kent County and its constituent agencies are extremely appreciative of the generosity of if its donors large and small.”
The award recipients are as follows; American Red Cross – Lemaine Peo, Boy Scouts – Ted Batchelder, Character Counts – Elizabeth Hill, Community Food Pantry – Joe Baker, Community Mediation – Gerry Edwards, Easter Seals – Paul Wagner, Echo Hill – Zack Hall, Epilepsy Association – Joyce Davis, For All Seasons – Karen Twigg, Girl Scouts – Melissa Bones, Good Neighbor Fund – Betsy Butler, Horizons – Nancy Nunn, KART – Marion Pepper & Donna Carron, Kent Center – Priyanka Panikh, Adult Medical Day Care – Trossbach Family, Mid-Shore Council on Family Violence – Shirley Williams, Garfield Center – Tia Glomb, Rebuilding Together – Mike Auth, St. Martin’s Ministries – Walter Dominick, Samaritan Group – Doug West, S O S – Cathy Lehmer, Townsend Clinic – George Hardy
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