A fundraising and awareness dinner was recently held by United Way of Highway 55 at Boskey’s Grille, where representatives from local businesses were invited to learn more about the organization. Attendees were presented with a program focusing on the mission of United Way and opportunities for businesses to volunteer and donate to United Way and support local non-profits.
“United Way works with a variety of companies, government organizations, non-profits and others to address complex challenges in the community,” said United Way Executive Director Ashley Abraham. “Our partners contribute more than just money. Their ideas, volunteer power, in-kind contributions and other forms of support help us to build stronger and more resilient communities.”
Representatives from some of the nineteen United Way of Highway 55 Non-Profit Partners were in attendance to share their missions and heartfelt stories about some of the specific needs of their organizations. HOME (Homeless of McMinnville Effort) co-founder Sheila Fann joined CASA Works (Court Appointed Special Advocates) director Wanda Strayhorn to speak about their experiences as United Way non-profit partners and the impact United Way support has had on their organizations.
“Through our allocations process, United Way of Highway 55 is able to make sure donated funds stay in our community. In addition to providing funding to our non-profit partners, we also assist other organizations and families with food boxes, hotels, gas cards, rent, groceries and utilities,” said Abraham. “In addition to direct support, we also promote United Way’s resource hotline, 2-1-1. This hotline operates 24/7/365 and is free and confidential. When an individual calls the line, they speak to a real person who can guide them to local resources such as housing, utility assistance, legal aid, transportation and more.”
United Way of Highway 55 Board Chair Michele Simmons spoke about ways to get involved, “The three ways to support our mission is to give, advocate and volunteer. We definitely need businesses and individuals in our service area to make our service and our advocacy possible.”
One of the easy ways larger businesses are able to support United Way is through payroll deduction. Wayne Monteith, President/GM of National Aerospace Solutions, spoke briefly on the success of the NAS payroll deduct program, “We joined the employee payroll program in 2017 and our employees have collectively donated over $179,000. We are a proud continued partner.”
Cherokee Distributing General Manager Clint Insell, Tullahoma Utilities Authority Vice President Brian Coate and Dot Foods Regional General Manager Rich Raham also voiced their support for United Way and involving their employees and customers in raising money to make a large impact in the community.
The event closed with several United Way of Highway 55 board members discussing their reasons for being involved with the organization.
Board member and Warren County resident Gloria Humphrey said, “Making this community and region a better place for everyone to live is very important to me. I joined this organization as a board member so that I could make a bigger impact with my service because of the way United Way is able to distribute their resources and donated funds.”
United Way of Highway 55 is always accepting donations, volunteers and resource information. To get involved, contact Ashley Abraham at (931) 455-5676, director@highway55unitedway.org, or on social media @highway55unitedway.
