UNITED WAY MARKS $8.13M for 2018 Fundraising Effort

Savannah, GA (September 6, 2018) – United Way of the Coastal Empire sets its community campaign goal for 2018 at $8,133,333. The organization announced the goal Thursday afternoon in a kick-off event at the Savannah Civic Center.

The funds raised will mobilize local resources to provide critical health and human services to thousands of people in a four-county region of Bryan, Chatham, Effingham, and Liberty. United Way invests in nearly 100 programs and over 50 partner agencies with a focus on education and youth development, financial stability, and health and wellness.

Campaign Chair Larry Silbermann, Vice President and General Manager of WTOC-TV, said he and his team – the 49 community leaders who make up the Campaign Cabinet – are committed to ensuring that every child has potential to succeed, adults can provide for their families, and everyone can lead a healthy life. “Each of us, doing what we can whether it’s $1 a week, $10 a week or even $50 a week, can truly make a difference. The power of one individual supporting United Way can have a tremendous impact on a life of a person or a family,” said Silbermann. “The campaign encourages our community to work united, live united, and give united to create opportunities for everyone to have a better life.”

Silbermann thanked companies that sponsored associates to help raise funds for the United Way campaign. Each year, employers lend key personnel or sponsor one to serve as full-time fundraisers during the annual campaign. These sponsored associates give United Way the essential person-power to take our message to workplaces throughout the region. Their generous gift helps keep the administrative costs low associated with campaign. Companies and organizations that sponsor one or more associates are Chatham County, Georgia-Pacific Savannah River Mill, Georgia Ports Authority, Georgia Power, and St. Joseph’s/Candler.

Silbermann further expressed his gratitude to local businesses and organizations that ran the United Way campaign in early August. These “Pacesetters” jumpstarted their campaigns in order to set a high bar for the community as a whole. Pacesetters helped kick-off the campaign with $631,797 of this year’s goal.

Other notable highlights of the event include:

• The introduction of United Way of the Coastal Empire President and CEO Deb Thompson
• Panel discussion to present the work of United Way and community partners in response to the natural disasters; The panelists were Major Paul Egan of The Salvation Army, Patti Lyons of Senior Citizens, Inc., and Mayor Jason Buelterman of City of Tybee Island

United Way campaign will run from September 6th through November 16th. You can give by visiting www.uwce.org or by calling 912.651.7700.

United Way thanks WTOC-TV, Stage Front Presentation Systems, and Georgia Power for contributing to the success of the event.

Recognized for their roles as 2018 Pacesetter organizations/companies were:

1. GOL Security – $200
2. Edward Jones, Ryan Waters Agency – $500
3. Macy’s – $1,500
4. Renasant Bank – $2,834
5. Reiser & Reiser CPAs – $2,940
6. WTOC-TV – $13,338
7. First Chatham Bank – $18,000
8. BankSouth – $19,413
9. Ameris Bank – $20,033
10. Synovus – $21,092
11. Port City Logistics – $35,290
12. Shaw Floors – $37,069
13. Chatham Steel – $41,083
14. WOMEN UNITED – $42,573
15. Thomas & Hutton – $42,954
16. Sterling Seacrest Partners – $44,022
17. Target – $44,480
18. Critz Auto Group – $46,732
19. Effingham Board of Education – $86,285
20. United Way & Funded Agencies – $111,459