NEW HAVEN — Tourterelle Dining & Inn graciously hosted the United Way of Addison County’s Community Celebration on May 26. Over 90 community members attended the event, enjoying the beautiful setting and food provided by Christine Snell of Tourterelle in New Haven.
The event celebrated the businesses, donors and volunteers who make a difference in Addison County through their participation in the UWAC campaign. Among the businesses recognized were Hannaford Food & Pharmacy for their support as a Triple Hitter; including a corporate gift, offering employees a payroll giving option, and allowing staff time off to volunteer. Our Partners Awards (businesses that teamed up with UWAC in multiple ways to ensure the success of events) went to Middlebury Fitness, Eagle Country 97.5 and Farm Fresh 102.9. This year’s Dine United Way Partners included Green Peppers Restaurant, Fire & Ice, Mary’s at Baldwin Creek and Storm Café.
Loyal donors giving five or more years were highlighted along with new donors, small business donors and event sponsors.
Volunteers participating in our Community Impact Funding process were recognized for their work in reading grants, visiting local nonprofits and making funding decisions for the monies raised by our community this past year. This year’s campaign chairs, Mark and Donna Perrin, shared their experience as chairs as we bid them farewell and thank you for a job well done.
As in past years, we recognized high school seniors for their work in the community. These students are nominated by the community for recognition for a special project or body of work. Due to the generosity of an anonymous donor, this year we were able to offer two $1,500 scholarships to be used for ongoing education. Four students were nominated for these awards: MaKayla Foster, Sarah Stearns, Daniel Emmell and Zoe Cassels-Brown. Our inaugural scholarship winners were Sara Stearns and Zoe Cassels-Brown.
During the celebration we got to hear two success stories from community members who had received services from local agencies supported by UWAC. Elizabeth Ready shared information about the work going on at the John Graham Emergency Shelter and introduced a recipient of services who shared her story of homelessness and the solutions provided by JGES. CVAA’s Tracy Corbett educated the audience about their work and we heard from a recipient of the Meals on Wheels program about the positive impact that program has on our homebound friends and neighbors.
A terrific evening was had by all and United Way of Addison County is thankful to all participants in this year’s campaign whether they were able to attend the event or not.
Editor’s note: This article was submitted by Nancy Luke.