Coming together for the good of our community is part of the fabric of Midland County residents. That care for neighbors was truly illustrated in this year’s United Way campaign. They are thrilled to announce they have surpassed their $4.5M goal, raising an impressive $4,702,575.

“As our community continues to evolve, we knew that meeting our campaign goal could be a challenge. Midland County’s generosity didn’t waver—once again rising to the challenge to ensure that our community’s most pressing needs are met,” shared 2019 Campaign Chair Jon Lynch. “You may not always see the people whose lives are changed, but your commitment to United Way has a local impact that will be felt for years to come.”

Generous support poured out from every corner of our community, from large corporations to schools, small businesses, local government agencies, nonprofits and retirees.

“With Thanksgiving just weeks away, we have immense gratitude for our amazing community,” shared Holly Miller, Executive Director at United Way of Midland County. “It is humbling to see so many people and organizations from every corner rally together to ensure vital programs and services are there for so many of our neighbors.”

This year’s campaign was led by Jon Lynch, President of Three Rivers Corporation. His team drove over 600 miles to share United Way’s story at fourteen sites across the state. Combined with a generous $10,000 corporate gift, Three Rivers Corporation surpassed their goal, raising $55,000.

Thanks to generous employee giving and the success of their record-breaking t-shirt sales, MidMichigan Health exceeded their goal as well. Once again employees were rewarded with a creative video featuring a superhero Pie Face showdown between President & CEO Diane Postler-Slattery, PhD and Marita Hattem-Shiffman.

Corteva kept the engagement and fun high during their first campaign. Featuring a food truck event, cornhole and a successful 50-50 drawing, their employees raised nearly $70,000, in addition to securing a generous corporate gift.

Trinseo, recently honored as the Corporate Community Leader at the 2019 Governor’s Service Awards, continue their culture of caring. They’re reporting a 6% increase in employee giving with nearly $60,000 in pledges.

Aptar had numerous fun activities like a family picnic, breakfast burrito sales and sports fan penny wars. These events raised nearly $2,000 plus a bump in employee giving.

Friendly competition drove West Midland Family Center and The Arc of Midland’s to new heights. The challenge:  increases in giving. At stake: lunch. It was a close race, with West Midland employees taking the prize, with an impressive increase of 31%.The Arc of Midland’s small but mighty team increase giving by 21%.

Chemical Bank rewarded employees by bringing in Chris Cakes to flip pancakes for their employees at two locations. Employees could purchase all-you-can-eat pancakes with all proceeds going to United Way. Combined with a generous corporate gift, Chemical Bank pledged over $90,000.

Members First Credit Union reported a $6,000 increase in employee giving. The Great Lakes Loons achieved 100% staff participation and pledged over $22,000. Midland Public Schools reported a 10% increase in their efforts, raising over $25,000. Our local municipalities reported strong results after a season of fun activities. Midland County employees raised $25,000 and City of Midland employees increased their contributions by over 18% this year, for a total of over $23,000 in pledges.

Our local retirees continue their legacy of care, with generous gifts totaling over $800,000. In addition, our community is blessed with support from our philanthropic corporate and family foundations. Together, they committed a humbling $1.2M in support.

Board member Jim Nigro really summed it up: “One thing that’s certain is that this is a little town with a big heart.”

To learn more about the impact of our community’s generous support, visit unitedwaymidland.org.

 

ABOUT UNITED WAY OF MIDLAND COUNTY

United Way brings the community together to improve lives by amplifying individual passion to take on our toughest challenges. They don’t focus on a single issue because change is bigger than one organization or program. They partner with nonprofits and invest in programs that show measurable outcomes—every year.