A Thousand Fibers Connecting Our Community

Virtual Morning of Gratitude

by Angie Matthiessen, Executive Director – United Way of Charlotte County

Our annual campaign celebration, this year called “Virtual Morning of Gratitude”, occurred Tuesday.  As the name suggests it was a time to thank and acknowledge some of this community’s most inspirational, talented, and committed individuals.  This group includes local businesses, foundations, and individuals that contributed time, talents and treasures.

The mission of mobilizing the power of our community to break the cycle of poverty is made possible by these partners. It is only fitting to recognize the thousand fibers connecting our community with Spirit Awards. This column is dedicated to them all.

Company awards included Publix in their 40th year giving to their community through UWCC. Englewood’s Merchants Crossing Publix included a special note of thanks for Store Manager Sonya Lawman. Florida Power & Light received a Most Legendary Corporate Partner award for their commitment to us in a COVID world, which was accepted by our UWCC Board President, Charlotte Miller, FPL External Affairs Manager. Charlotte County Government, the Commissioners and County Administrator Hector Flores not only led this community through a pandemic but also ensured local human service organizations were supported through UWCC. Of course, this aligns with their vision to “preserve and enrich our community’s quality of life for those who live, work and play in paradise”.

Peace River Distributing (PRD) and The Daily Sun received Community Legacy awards. When Robert Wenzel and family moved to Charlotte County and started PRD in 1991, he knew their company would be one that gave back. From the start they chose UWCC as its vehicle. Of course, these weekly columns in the Daily Sun have been an important tool in telling our story. Thank you Glen Nickerson for providing us this invaluable tool.. The Professional Firefighters & Paramedics Charitable Foundation received a New Community Partner Award.

Special recognition for their investments through various grants include William G. & Marie Selby Foundation for a COVID-19 technology grant supporting our VITA program; the James & Marion Pennoyer Fund at The Charlotte Community Foundation for COVID-19 related work; and the Patterson Foundation as an honorarium for our dedicated role in connecting Season of Sharing recipients with financial assistance, thanks to the Community Foundation of Sarasota County. The Suncoast Campaign for Grade-Level Reading shined like stars by bringing This Book is Cool to our community this past summer.                                           

The UWCC Spirit Awards recognized individuals for their unique contributions this past year. Recipients exemplify passion, excellence, inspiration and commitment to their community.

  • Workplace Campaign Champion, Ceres Austria
  • Campaign Cabinet Spirit, Kaley Miller
  • Community Superhero, Maryann Mize
  • Ambassador in Action, Polly Johnson
  • Compassion in Action, Tami Akins
  • Women United Spirit, Lindsey McKelvy
  • Spirit of VITA - Lorie Rice, Wayne Stewart, Joann Tompkins
  • Agency Spirit – Denise Dull, Janet Lane, Sue Sorenson

Nonprofits funded by UWCC nominated staff who went above and beyond during the pandemic. Denise Dull was hired to help organizations with clients who were experiencing homelessness and, as crisis hit many, this called for immediate action. Her job instantly evolved into a seven day a week crisis management position. As Angela Hogan, the CEO of Gulf Coast Partnership will attest, “Denise knows how to prioritize with grace, even in a pandemic.”

Janet Lane met the needs of children and families by connecting with them virtually and safely in-person. “With all the extra work and precautions occurring during this pandemic, Janet still had the vision of Book Bag Buddies to be given to children who were going through a difficult time in their lives” explained Anne Bouhebent, Executive Director of Early Learning Coalition. This led Janet to acquire blankets that were handmade by community volunteers, that were placed in the bookbags with a cuddle toy to help sooth these children.                  

Sue Sorenson created Facebook live and Zoom meetings for Kids Thrive’s Circle of Parents and provided outside socially distanced visits to make sure these families were receiving the resources they needed. “She builds trust and confidence with the families she works with that have a tremendous impact on the results that these family achieve”, offered Diane Ramseyer, the Executive Director of Drug Free Charlotte County.

On behalf of the UWCC board of Directors and staff, congratulations to our award recipients. We could not do this without each and every one of you. The thousand fibers connecting our community start with your actions, making this the beautiful place it is.

For more information, please call the Way of Charlotte County at 941-627-3539 or visit www.unitedwayccfl.org. Mission: Mobilizing the power of our community to break the cycle of poverty. Angie Matthiessen is the Executive Director of United Way of Charlotte County. She can be reached at director@unitedwayccfl.org.