Danke! Gracias! Merci!

No matter the language, the message was clear last Thursday evening at the 2019 United Way of Indian River County Thank You event at the Grand Harbor Golf Club: Thank you for living United. The room was bursting with members of the community who annually give, advocate and volunteer in support of the goal of the nonprofit to improve lives by mobilizing the caring power of the community.

The writing was quite literally “on the wall” as to why this United Way has garnered so much community support in its more than 50-year history in Indian River County. A wall emblazoned with “What’s your why?” greeted guests and asked them to share “#Why I live United.”

The testament of support spelled out the numerous ways the organization has worked to shape a robust, healthy and caring community by building partnerships and leveraging resources to make measurable differences in the areas of health, education and financial stability.

“The whole purpose of tonight is to celebrate each and every one of you that are in this room,” said Michael Kint, UWIRC CEO. “You are part of our family, and this is our thank you for your commitment to your community. We simply could not do the work that we do without all of you. We are celebrating a very successful and fulfilling year of mobilizing the caring power of our community.”

Kint said that a critical factor in that success has been their efforts to create a “comprehensive collaborative to build a system of wraparound services for some of our most vulnerable neighbors.”

He added that they have utilized a model that has focused on the areas of mental health, kindergarten readiness, grade-level reading and senior services by “initiating a dialogue amongst local funders to build up and establish a cohesive nonprofit community and funding network.”

The 2018-2019 Campaign co-chairs, Randy and Marge Riley with Kip and Mary Jacoby, added their thanks for the community’s support during the campaign. Randy Riley shared that serving in this capacity had allowed him “to see how life really is better when you live United.”

Kip Jacoby hinted that as the campaign nears its end, the fundraising thermometer is just shy of their $3 million goal, but noted that funds raised through the April 15 Jackie Robinson Celebration Game and June 6 Moorings Hawks Nest Golf Tournament will count toward this year’s campaign. After that, the co-chairs will turn the reins over to 2019-2020 co-chairs Bob Schlitt and Jeff Schlitt.

For more information, or for tickets to the Jackie Robinson game, visit unitedwayirc.org.