Nearly 800 United Way volunteers, corporate partners and agency partners joined together to recognize the efforts of individuals and organizations in strengthening our community at the annual United Way Community Celebration held at the Chicago Hilton. The festive luncheon was brought to life by WGN-TV’s Merri Dee, Director of Community Relations who emceed the event. Around Town reporter at WGN Ana Belaval also served as roving reporter gauging reaction from the crowd and building energy and excitement at the Pillar Award winners’ tables.

Among the honorees was Ernst & Young. The company was honored for its generous sponsorship of the Million Dollar Challenge Grant, which encourages new and increased Leadership and Tocqueville giving by matching each gift, dollar for dollar. The company was also distinguished as the #1 Tocqueville Company, counting 72 Tocqueville donors in their organization and giving the largest amount from Tocqueville donors than any other company in the region.

Also at the event, United Way Board Chair Lester McKeever announced United Way is investing a total of $56.5 million into health and human service programs throughout the 238 communities it serves. This year’s community investment will be distributed to more than 350 partner agencies that provide a myriad of health and human services, including early childhood, mentoring and stay in school programs, specialized care for seniors and people with disabilities, temporary food and shelter for the homeless and victims of fires and domestic violence and job placement and retention education for adults.

“United Way provides the leadership and resources it takes to help people become independent,” said McKeever. “We focus on identifying the local health and human services needs and then fund a network of programs or coordinate initiatives that best address the needs in our community.”

United Way also announced the 2007 Top 25 Corporate Citizens of Metropolitan Chicago. The Corporate Citizen Awards honor companies and their employees for contributing the most dollars to United Way through corporate and employee donations and special events. Topping the list this year was Northern Trust, which raised almost $2.7 million, including a corporate gift of $950,000.

“The work we do in our communities could not be accomplished without the deep commitment and support of all our corporate partners, especially Northern Turst,” added McKeever. “These companies and their employees want to make an impact in the community, and they do. We are very lucky to count on their caring and support each year.”

Outgoing 2006 Campaign Co-Chairs Frank Clark, ComEd chairman and CEO, and Pam Strobel, former Exelon chief administrative officer, were also honored for their dedication and leadership during the campaign. The campaign they led was marked by growth across industries, giving levels and geography raising $2.5 million more than the previous year.

Clark also announced the 2007 Campaign chair, Jay Henderson, managing partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers.

To see some great pictures from this event, please click here.

Happy Birthday United Way! It’s been 75 years since the first group of prominent civic and government leaders developed a way for workers and employers to help their community. In the early 1930s, social services agencies were overwhelmed by the ever growing number of people who needed relief from the Great Depression. Unemployment was widespread throughout the Chicago area and the United Way movement, started in Denver, made its way to the city of big shoulders to provide a solution.

At the time it was a revolutionary concept: ask workers to contribute one day of pay per month and employers were asked to match each dollar raised. The dollars raised by the community would help the social service agencies provide the programs that helped those who could not afford to give to the Community Fund overcome life’s challenges.

By 1946, the Community fund divided the money raised across seven health and human service areas—family assistance, education, dependent child care, clinics and general health, specialized services, hospitals and senior housing. By that time, United Way was serving a three county region—Cook, Lake and DuPage Counties. Today, our metropolitan region is quite different but our mission remains the same—to improve people’s lives by mobilizing caring people to invest in their community where their resources are needed most.

To commemorate our 75 years in the region, United Way is offering a way for people to create a personal legacy to improve lives for generations to come. In addition to your annual gift to the 2007 United Way Campaign, consider a one-time gift to the new United Way Endowment, to ensure the ongoing well being of our community for the future.

An Endowment is a collection of monetary gifts that are deposited into a fund where they will remain forever. The gifts are invested and a portion of the income earned from these investments is provided each year to United Way. The original gift, or the principal, remains untouched generating income that will forever improve lives and strengthen our community. The United Way Endowment will:

• Provide resources for quick and effective response to unexpected crisis. In the event of a large scale disaster in our community, the immediate response of emergency personnel and agencies lasts for a brief 48-72 hours. For the long term stability of the region, United Way leads the coordination of health and human service providers to help people to independence after facing a crisis. The United Way endowment will ensure that funding is available immediately to address recovery issues effectively.
• Stabilize human care services at times when resources are less available. During an economic turndown, the need for health and human services dramatically increases while the resources to provide services sharply decline. The United Way Endowment can help bridge that critical funding gap so health and human service providers can continue to serve individuals and families in need.
• Serve as a source of revenue for emerging needs. For example, the Latino population nearly doubles since 1990 to 20% of the region’s total population, with 54% living in the suburbs where service traditionally has not existed. In addition, the population of people 65 and older is projected to double by 2030 and this growth is expected to overlap with the population growth of people with disabilities. These trends represent just some of the issues facing health and human service providers that must be addressed with innovative approaches and collaborations not currently being used.

Gifts to the Endowment of $2,500 or more, during our inaugural year, will be recognized forever in United Way Endowment materials. If you are interested in learning more about the Endowment, please contact Beth Curtis at (312) 906-2457.

The first two 2007 United Way Tocqueville Breakfasts featured Chicago sports teams. To kick off our Tocqueville Breakfast series in April, we focused on a relatively new sports enterprise in Chicago and nationwide—women’s basketball. In fact, the Chicago Sky, the Woman’s National Basketball Association team in Chicago, tipped off its first season just two years ago.

Margaret Stender, president and CEO of the Chicago Sky was our keynote speaker. Ms. Stender has an extensive background as a successful business woman and basketball player. She brings with her 21 years of marketing and business management experience working for some of the country’s top corporations, including Quaker/PepsiCo Beverages and Foods, Rand McNally & Co, and Ameritech New Media. Ms. Stender gave attendees an overview of the Chicago Sky corporation and their role in metropolitan Chicago.

“The Chicago Sky is an up-and-coming team willing to work hard to win,” said Pam Strobel, co-chair of the United Way Tocqueville Society. “Their organization is lined with fresh talent—from its players on the court and its coaching staff, to its helm led by Margaret.”

The second Tocqueville Breakfast held in May, was hosted by a Chicago team with decades of history on Chicago’s North Side—the Chicago Cubs. At this event, attendees heard from John McDonough, president of the Chicago Cubs and a member of the organization since 1983. Under McDonough’s leadership, the Cubs have revamped both their roster and staff and have also enjoyed their 22 highest attendance totals in team history—including three consecutive seasons with an attendance mark of more than three million fans.

McDonough spoke about America’s favorite pastime, which over the years has become an industrious, productive, multi-billion dollar business, as well as how to give back to the community. Through their charitable foundation Cubs Care this ball club supports youth sports programs, programs for children with special needs and for victims of domestic violence.

“The Cubs have a strong commitment to enacting positive change in its local Wrigleyville community and throughout the metropolitan area,” said Deb DeHaas, co-chair of the United Way Tocqueville Society.

The Tocqueville Breakfast series is comprised of small, informal breakfasts hosted by various industry leaders from around the metropolitan Chicago area. Each event brings together Society members and other business and community leaders to share ideas and knowledge about business and philanthropy. Upcoming Tocqueville Breakfasts will feature Michael Moskow, president and CEO of the Federal Reserve of Chicago, on August 14 and Emily Barr, president and general manager of ABC 7 Chicago, on October 3. If you are a Tocqueville Society member and would like to attend one of these breakfasts, please contact Whitney Templeton at (312) 906-2295.