We kicked off our 2021 United Way of Hampshire County (UWHC) Campaign online with fanfare, thanks, and awards. The event, hosted by Executive Director John Bidwell and incoming Board Chair Molly Feinstein, covered a lot of ground in only a half hour.
An Increased Campaign Goal: $1.5M
Campaign Co-Chairs Susan Etheredge and Markus Jones talked about why they got involved with United Way and as co-chairs in particular. They talked about this year’s goal increase to $1.5M in response to an explosion of need since the start of COVID-19 and the economic downturn.
“Never has so much been asked of us,” added Feinstein, “Fortunately, our ability to respond has been supported by you, our donors. And as a result, COVID-19 related needs, both long- and short-term, have shaped our current campaign.”
This includes seeking additional funding for:
1. Increased Long-term Grants: Social service agencies are struggling with lower donations and are turning to United Way for help with current programs helping people in poverty and near poverty. This increased support is vital to the long-term health of local agencies and our communities in need.
2. Emerging Needs Grants: We are launching a new grants program allowing us to be more responsive to immediate needs, which have grown since COVID-19.
3. Diapers: We greatly expanded our diaper drive to become a bi-county joint diaper bank with United Way of Franklin County.
Awards
The bulk of the Kick-Off focused on awards, including United Way of Hampshire County’s annual recognitions.
Kay Sheehan Spirit of the Community Award: Easthampton Community Center & Robin Bialecki
The Kay Sheehan Spirit of the Community Award honors an exemplary Community Champion/Partner Agency that has shown outstanding service and leadership in our community. It is named for Kathleen Sheehan, a teacher, guidance counselor and principle in the Northampton School system for 35 years, and who passed in 2012.
This year goes to United Way partner agency Easthampton Community Center (ECC) and Executive Director Robin Bialecki. Robin is the engine behind the ECC and their remarkable response since the COVID-19 crisis started in March. In that time they have seen almost 800 new families asking for assistance. A couple of weeks ago the ECC received 22,000 lbs of food from the Food Bank of Western MA, which was gone within 12 hours. The ECC sees those hit the hardest and no matter who comes through their doors they are there to help.
Community Champion Award: Lindsay LaBonte and Todd Barron
The Community Champion Award is presented to a local individual or group that contributes to the mission of our United Way and creates positive, lasting change in Hampshire County.
This year goes to Lindsay LaBonte and her father Todd Barron. Todd and his wife Andrea have been consistent donors to UWHC for decades. With increased requests for help, they stepped up their giving this year. Todd has a long history with United Way, having been on the board and committees and headed the campaign in 2005 and 2006. Lindsay picked up the mantel, and now serves on the board and was a campaign co-chair in 2018 and 2019. In addition to their employee campaign, which was matched by Applied Mortgage’s parent company, they awarded United Way a grant as part of their Vitality Grant program, Todd has been a champion for UW with regional real estate businesses, and Lindsay has helped organize fundraisers through The Hub Studio and Provisions.
Workplace Champion Award: Packaging Corporation of America
The Workplace Champion Award goes to an exemplary United Way Workplace Campaign that embodies the mission of United Way through their participation and leadership in caring for our community.
This year, we recognize Packaging Corporation of America (PCA). PCA is an outstanding business you may not know about. They are hard workers. They keep a low profile, but they are 100% committed to community. They are not looking for attention but they deserve it. They have run an employee campaign for decades and in that time they have giving back over $360K. Their motivation and philosophy is clear: There are times in life when you need help and there are times when you help because you can, no matter how small. What goes around comes around.
People of the Year Awards
In addition, we announced the three awards we do in conjunction with the Daily Hampshire Gazette.
Young Community Leader Award: Mathieu Johnson
The Young Community Leader Award recognizes a person between the ages of 15 and 30 who lives in Hampshire County, and has contributed through community involvement and volunteerism, to making our county a better place for all. With COVID-19 and the early need for personal protective equipment (PPE), Northampton high school student Matthieu Johnson wasted no time making the link between his unique skills in 3D printing and the sudden need for PPE, suppling hundreds of needed masks to front line health care workers in the region
Person of the Year Award: Stephany Marryshow
The 2020 Person of the Year Award honors a local person for going above and beyond in making the Valley a better place.
The killing of George Floyd ignited a wave of protest in support of Black Lives Matter and racial injustice. This year’s award recipient, Stephany Marryshow, immediately got involved and co-founded 413 Stay Woke, Stay Active, with her partner Simbrit Paskins, as the local response in line with the Black Lives Matter movement. Stay Woke, Stay Active led the nationally recognized protests in Holyoke.
Bidwell said, “A well-organized protest is powerful and inspirational. Huge kudos to the leaders of the protest in City of Holyoke, especially Simbrit Paskins and Stephany Marryshow, for getting it just right and being a model for us all.”
Stephany is also founder of The Ethnic Study a collaborative workspace, and she is a very talented musician.
Bidwell summarized, “Stephany truly embodies the spirit of civil disobedience as a fight for a better and more just community.”
Francis Crowe Award: Ruth Woodring
This award recognizes a person(s) or organization that represents the essence of Hampshire County with a documented history of bringing others to action for a cause. This inaugural honor recognizes exemplary work leading social and environmental causes and inspires the next generation of change makers. It is named for last year’s Person of the Year, Frances Crowe, and the life-long spirit of her work. This year’s selection committee was fortunate to have France’s daughter Caltha Crowe.
Ruth Woodring, this year’s award recipient, is a common sight around Florence and the region. As a co-founder of Pedal People, Ruth has been doing heavy-hauling by bike for almost twenty years, but her dedication to the environment to community, the environment, and peace goes much deeper. She was a friend and disciple of Frances Crowe and embodies Crow’s values and actions. As Ruth says: “One of my core motivators for biking is my belief in pacifism. By replacing cars with human powered vehicles we reduce our reliance on fossil fuel oil and the need to go to war.”
Special Thanks: Molly Mead and Kate Glynn
Bidwell give special thanks to two people whose time and expertise have been vital to the campaign and organization. They include Molly Mead for her three years as Campaign Co-Chair and Kate Glynn for her three years as Board Co-Chair. Both women served longer than normal terms.
Special Meeting
The meeting was followed by a Special Meeting of membership to review proposed amendments to the organization by-laws.
Special thanks to our sponsors
Platinum Event Level: Greenfield Savings Bank
Platinum Annual: Smith College
Gold Annual: Daily Hampshire Gazette, FlorenceBank, L3 Harris, bankESB, Amherst College
Silver Annual: Applied Mortgage, Packaging Corporation of America, C&S Wholesale Grocers
Bronze Annual: Bank of America, Cooley Dickinson Healthy Care, Eversource, Peoples Bank, Webber & Grinnell Insurance, Whalen Insurance, Wright Builders, UMass Amherst