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The Best Campaign Growth Award recognizes companies or organizations that demonstrate outstanding achievement in employee education, engagement, and involvement with United Way resulting in a large increase in participation and dollars raised. Collectively, the winners in this category saw an average of 207% increase in dollars raised – an average of 82% increase in employee participation, brought in 51 new donors, and together added 6 new Leadership Givers.

area agency on aging, region iv

Cass District Library

County of Berrien

City of Buchanan

Cassopolis Public Schools

Domestic & Sexual Abuse Services

LoveJoy

Niles Precision Company

Old National Bank

This award recognizes companies or organizations with the best year-round partnership with respect to communication, education, involvement, and engagement. The winners are involved in United Way Days of Action, have presence on the Board and Campaign Cabinet, hold special events throughout the year to raise money, advocate on behalf of United Way and so much more. This group truly understands and embraces what it means to be a great partner.

1st Source Bank

Berrien County Cancer Service

Spectrum Health Lakeland

Lake Michigan College

LOGAN Autism Learning Center

Martin’s Super Markets - Stevensville

Berrien RESA

St. Joseph Public Schools

Tyler Automotive

This award recognizes companies or organizations that demonstrate a deep commitment to the community through their support of United Way and by encouraging other local businesses to get involved. The winners in this category demonstrate substantial increases in donations and employee participation, they have company leadership endorsement and support, assemble campaign committees, offer incentives to new givers and so much more!

Andrews University

Berrien Springs Public Schools

Horizon Bank

Honor Credit Union

K&M Machine Fabricating

Mid-West Family

Palisades Power Plant/Entergy

United Federal Credit Union

Van Buren ISD

This company started in Bridgman in 1921 and moved to Benton Harbor in 1955. It was privately held until 1998 when the owner, Mr. Warren Gast sold the business to the IDEX Corporation. When asked about this decision, Mr. Gast replied: “They live by the Golden Rule as to how to treat customers, employees, and suppliers. It’s kind of encouraging there are other people out there who feel as we did.” This philosophy continues today and is clearly one that each employee makes their personal mission when they show up for work. They don’t only exhibit this through their work but through their community engagement as well. In 2019, in partnership with United Way, they received a large grant from the IDEX Foundation to renovate Hall Park in Benton Harbor in 2020, they collected books for Spring into Reading, collected over 2,600 items for our Christmas in June food drive, sponsored and participated in Rake a Difference, built 7 boats for Whirlpool’s Cardboard Boat Races, and the list goes on and on. As stated by IDEX: “As the foundation of our Operating Model, the IDEX values unite our teams around the world. They are the behaviors that encourage and guide our employees to do and be their best every day.”

Gast Manufacturing

Mol-Son

Western Diversified Plastics

This award is being presented to a company that is conveniently located in Mattawan; halfway between Detroit and Chicago. They were formed in 2005, but the combined ownership has over 100 years of experience in design, tooling, and production of close-tolerance injection-molded components and utilizing engineered resins. Not only are they experts at their craft, but they’re experts when it comes to giving back to the community as well. They have been involved with United Way for many years and the owners have created a philanthropic culture that their employees have adopted. In 2019 they fully embraced our merger with Van Buren County United Way and quickly became one of our top contributors. To encourage giving, they offer incentives, provide free giveaways at kickoff, hold a United Way week of events, and make sure their employees understand the importance of our organization. They have also had presence on our Board and Investment Teams. Their involvement with United Way continues to deepen and evolve and we are very grateful to have the partnership we have with them today.

2019 Medium Corporate Champion of the Year Award

This award is going to a company that has been a loyal United Way partner for many years. For the last several, they have emphasized special events to allow everyone to be able to participate in United Way fundraising. In 2019, they went above and beyond with their events which resulted in campaign dollars increasing by 50%. This company also donated supplies to fill 100 backpacks, which their employees packed for local foster children. They collected food for Christmas in June and participated in Rake a Difference. They have a small team which leads their efforts and they continue to grow their campaign!

Vomela Transportation Graphics

2019 Small Corporate Champion of the Year Award

This award is being presented to a company that was born in 1993 from an expertise in building brands. They offer unique, quality promotional products and even provided us with some of the beautiful awards we’re presenting this year. This company has seen consistent growth in their campaign for over 5 years with no signs of slowing down. In 2019 they not only increased their campaign dollars, they also had 95% employee participation and increased leadership giving by 25%. Even with a very busy year and an expansion into Grand Rapids they still made sure to keep their focus on supporting our community. They are a small but mighty team making a huge difference.

Competitive Edge

Our winner of the Employee Campaign Chair of the Year Award for a Large Business is no stranger to leading a United Way campaign. In fact, she leads a committee of over 20 people to make sure their campaign and community engagement is successful. In 2019, she had a tremendous year which included getting her company involved with Rake a Difference, Spring into Reading, Christmas in June, Trunk or Treat for foster kids, adopting 90 foster children for Christmas and the list goes on and on. She has taken her employees to a new level of giving back and without her leadership our community wouldn’t be the same. She shows up every day with a heart of gold and inspirational ideas in her back pocket. She is very well deserving of this recognition and we are privileged to have her as a volunteer.

Cathy Summers

Indiana Michigan Power, an AEP Company

2019 ECC of the Year - Medium Business Award

This award is recognizing an Employee Campaign Chair who created significant growth in her company’s campaign over her 4 years of leading it. She took the ECC position with the challenge of growing the campaign and stepping out of her comfort zone, and boy, did she ever. Not only did the campaign grow, it became the most successful funded partner campaign for 4 years straight! And how does she do it? Simple. She makes fundraising for United Way enjoyable and exciting for her employees. For example, she coordinated the creation of an escape room as part of their many campaign activities and it was a huge hit! But after all the fun and games, she makes sure everyone truly understands the impact their dollars are making. She’s a strong advocate for our work and makes her campaign something to look forward to each year.

Evelyn Castrejon

Kinexus Group

2019 ECC of the Year - Small Business Award

This award goes to someone who is an inspiring leader. Every year, he leads his team on a project partnering with Berrien County Cancer Service for a Day of Caring. He and his team assist a local cancer patient by taking on a project they need done at their home. From repair work to landscaping to installing a bathroom, his team has done it all! His passion for giving back is not only evident in the way he runs the United Way campaign, but also in how he lives his daily life. He has even been known to provide lunches to the less fortunate in his spare time. This passion for community reflects in the success of his campaign. In 2019 the campaign saw a 17% increase in giving, and the company also achieved 100% participation. One of his taglines when referring to his work is “We have petroleum in our pipes and love in our hearts.”

David Brooks

Wolverine Pipe Line Company

This award stands true to its name, recognizing a corporate partner whose involvement with United Way was inspirational during the 2019 campaign. Our winner this evening has efficiency down to a T. You probably encounter them daily in one way or another. Whether they are giving that friendly knock on your door upon delivery or seeing the renowned brown truck driving through your neighborhood, we can all be very grateful for their work. They are a staple in the community and firmly believe in getting involved as much as possible. This includes helping with many of the United Way Days of Action. Last year, they helped transport over 14,000 books that were collected for Spring into Reading. They also lent their services and muscle to picking up and dropping off thousands of food items to local pantries for Christmas in June. They even helped map out hundreds of seniors’ homes, so our volunteers were organized for Rake a Difference. On top of their amazing assistance with these events, over 90% of their employees participate in their United Way campaign.

United Parcel Service

This company is a long-time partner with United Way and consistently donates their time and dollars each year. This group engages their employees with year-round communication about United Way, fun special events, and volunteer opportunities. This recipient took their creativity to new heights in 2019. They challenged their nearby school district to see who could raise more money for United Way at a home football game. At halftime the Chief of Police and the school’s Principal dressed in T-Rex costumes and raced shopping carts full of beach balls as a fun addition. Prior to the event the Police Department posted a promotional video of T-Rex and wound up getting an astounding 15,000 views! There are no limits to fundraising with this team!

Coloma Township Police Department

Meijer

Recognizing Stevensville, South Haven, and Benton Harbor locations

This company is a long-time partner with United Way and consistently donates their time and dollars each year. This group engages their employees with year-round communication about United Way, fun special events, and volunteer opportunities. Meijer has 3 stores in our tri-county service area. 2019 marked the 2nd year that this company helped fund, organize, and execute the event they created called Operation Thanksgiving, which provided 150 Thanksgiving dinner kits to local families. We are very pleased to recognize them for the positive impact they’re putting into our communities.

This company is a long-time partner with United Way and consistently donates their time and dollars each year. This group engages their employees with year-round communication about United Way, fun special events, and volunteer opportunities. Ravitron is a company that has a passion for the community and works with several local nonprofits offering their services at a discounted rate. The owner makes it part of the corporate culture to be engaged in the community and offers the staff the opportunity to see first-hand how their contributions and support make a difference every day through United Way Impact Tours.

Ravitron

The success of any major undertaking depends on preparation. The effort that’s put into data analysis, subject matter research, and scenario planning can make or break any community-based project. Luckily, Southwest Michigan can always count on this award winner to help fill in those blanks. This organization has provided interactive GIS story maps to help Be Healthy Berrien target their interventions. They have conducted transportation studies to help Berrien County understand the complex systems that many in our community struggle to navigate. And as one of the backbone organizations for our region’s Prosperity Initiative, they are now working to help us quantify our community’s lack of affordable housing, a key challenge that is impacting businesses, schools, and non-profit organizations. Their work often goes unrecognized by most people, but the outcomes can be felt by almost everyone in Southwest Michigan.

The Southwest Michigan Planning Commission

This award has been presented in his honor since 2007 and is given to a company that infuses the same originality and imagination into their employee campaign as David did at United Federal -- by going above and beyond what is expected to make the campaign fun, exciting, inspirational, and ultimately successful. This year’s winner is committed to inspiring positive economic change one person, one business, and one community at a time. They take this motto even further by applying it to their United Way partnership as well. They have a team packed with creativity and spirit which results in a United Way month like none other. They kicked off their 2019 campaign with a Halloween decorating and costume contest, followed by creating an escape room. It included a balloon board full of daily prizes—and they even let their employees run a donation tab for the entire month! Driven by their leadership team, the employees of this organization are the fundraising go getters and continue to outdo themselves year after year. This organization has sponsored Pop Up Giving and School Supply Spectacular and are a gold sponsor this event. This talented group is one of the most engaged in Southwest Michigan, and we are truly grateful for their continued support, advocacy, and volunteerism.

Kinexus Group

This Award is named after Whirlpool Corporation and its employees, this prestigious award has been established to recognize organizations and their employees whose dedication to community is unparalleled. Winners of this award are truly exceptional in how they give back. They have a long-standing history of creating significant impact in Southwest Michigan or display a strong sense of service within Southwest Michigan and the communities in their company’s entire footprint. This is the first year Whirlpool is presenting this award to another company. Through Indiana Michigan Power & its D.C. Cook Plant’s extraordinary vision and leadership, as well as their strong employee engagement and financial support, I&M, Cook and its employees are transforming lives and strengthening communities. One of the highlights from 2019 was their project at the United Way Funded Agency, Harbor House through The Avenue Family Network.

Indiana Michigan Power & its D.C. Cook Plant

Collaboration is defined as a process where two or more people or organizations work together at an intersection of common goals. And in today’s world, key to the success of an organization is collaboration. Serving over 900 children in Berrien, Cass, and Van Buren counties, this organization has worked with many others to improve the lives of children in Southwest Michigan. Just a few of these efforts include: collaboration with YMCA of Greater Michiana to establish preschool in New Buffalo; collaboration with Lewis Cass Intermediate School District and Van Buren Intermediate School District to provide blended preschool classrooms; collaborations with the Great Start Collaboratives in Berrien, Cass and Van Buren counties to help children be successful at the start of Kindergarten and beyond; collaboration with Southwestern Michigan College to offer staff an opportunity to earn their degree in Early Childhood Education; collaboration with organizations such as Area Agency on Aging and PNC bank to offer volunteer opportunities; and many, many more.

Tri-County Head Start

2019 Excellence in Impact Award

Impact can be significant in terms of both quantity and quality, and this award winner excels at both. Though new to being a partner of United Way of Southwest Michigan, this organization was founded in 1996 in Paw Paw and provides free services to residents of Van Buren County who have been affected by the crimes of domestic and sexual violence. Approximately 500 individuals in Van Buren County are served through this organization annually, however, they understand that those numbers are small in comparison to the need. So, they successfully secured a grant to begin expanding their services in 2020, which will enable them to meet clients where they are and make an even larger impact in Van Buren County.

The Domestic Violence Coalition

2019 Excellence in Innovation Award

Being innovative is risky. It usually means that you have to take a leap without the guarantee of a soft landing. This award winner did just that with one of our community’s most pressing issues – third grade literacy. The key to their success was in how they approached the issue. Instead of saying, “what can we do with the resources we have,” they challenged two local school districts to design their ideal interventions, without thinking about any restrictions or limitations. Then this group secured the resources needed to launch two important projects in the summer of 2019. The first project was a series of pop-up libraries that distributed more than 2,000 books to children throughout the summer. The second project sent teachers to the homes of at-risk students to deliver books, and more importantly, to build trusting and supportive relationships with families. Risky? Yes. Worth it? Absolutely, considering the end result was an 83% increase in the number of children who met their goals in reading growth.

The Berrien County Great Start Collaborative

The LIVE UNITED award was created in 2005 to recognize organizations or individuals who truly embody the mission, vision, and goals of United Way, and who live out the motto: Give, Advocate, and Volunteer. Shelitha is someone that we guarantee all of you would want to be friends with. She has a contagious personality that she knows she can use to her advantage … in fundraising, that is. She has been the building lead for the Customer Experience Center at Whirlpool Corporation for over 8 years and leads the building’s fundraising efforts each year. She created and leads events that include a basket sale, dunk tank, magic show and mystery sale. And if you ask her to explain the mystery sale, she will simply shrug her shoulders and say, “it’s a mystery.” If you want to know what it is, you better get over to CXC to participate. Between these 4 events, she raised over $30,000 for United Way in 2019. $30,000! In addition to her fundraising achievements last year, she also encouraged her building to participate in Christmas in June and to hold a backpack and school supply drive for Benton Harbor Schools. She is a strong leader and inspires others daily.

Shelitha McKee

Whirlpool Corporation

Sue Danielson

The LIVE UNITED award was created in 2005 to recognize organizations or individuals who truly embody the mission, vision, and goals of United Way, and who live out the motto: Give, Advocate, and Volunteer. It’s a tall order to find someone who embodies the spirit of Give, Advocate, and Volunteer more than this nominee. As a volunteer, we know her best for her decade-long commitment to the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program, and as a founding member of the volunteer-run Eleanor’s Pantry. As an advocate, nobody beats the drum for children’s literacy louder than she does. She was the driving force for the Paw Paw Rotary to establish Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library in that community. Then, after the United Way merger, she pushed for expansion into all of Van Buren County, and facilitated the necessary agreements between United Way and the Rotary. And if that wasn’t enough, she also helped secure thousands of dollars from members of the community to make that expansion possible.