The people of Boulder and Broomfield counties come together with tremendous results when it’s needed most, and continue to innovate to make the community stronger. Those were the main messages to come out of LIVE UNITED 2011, Foothills United Way’s second annual LIVE UNITED event.
LIVE UNITED 2011, held June 8th at the Stadium Club at Folsom Field, celebrated the collaborations, programs, initiatives and philanthropic spirit that are achieving success and changing lives in Boulder and Broomfield Counties. The event highlighted what has been done and mapped out the road ahead.
Dr. Richard Wobbekind, Associate Dean of the Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado, gave the keynote address, discussing the state of the economic recovery in Colorado and its impact on the nonprofit community. Dr. Wobbekind noted that, during this time of economic recovery, there is still the real possibility that more people will need the services of local nonprofits, But he noted that the Boulder-area economy is doing fairly well in recovery, and that could give local individuals and companies more capacity to help support the nonprofits.
And when it comes to support – there are few communities stronger that Boulder and Broomfield Counties. Foothills United Way Board of Directors Vice Chair Jon Kottke used the incredible response to last year’s Four Mile Canyon fire as example of how local residents and businesses come together to provide relief and support. Kottke also noted the nonprofit innovations of the last year, such as the new Nonprofit Cultivation Center and eCommunity. The Nonprofit Cultivation Center is a groundbreaking collaboration between Foothills United Way and the Boulder County Board of Commissioners, designed to help local nonprofits build capacity. eCommunity is a module of the United Way database, which provides a common application for funding and system for reporting for United Way, the City of Longmont, the City of Boulder and Boulder County.
LIVE UNITED 2011 featured the awarding of Foothills United Way’s Spirit of the Community awards. The Spirit of the Community Awards are presented annually to individuals, partnerships/collaborations, and companies who set the standard for philanthropy or community service, and exemplify the idea of Living United.
2011 Award Winners (L to R): David Gehant, Boulder Community Hospital; John Tayer, Roche Colorado; Francea Phillips, Meals on Wheels of Boulder; Chiara Myers, Safe Shelter of St. Vrain Valley; Pete Lorenzen, IBM Boulder.
Award winners were as follows:
Spirit of the Community, Partnership/Collaboration: Project Homecoming, Meals on Wheels of Boulder and Boulder Community Hospital. Project Homecoming provides patients discharged from the hospital with nutritious meals at home, and can accomodate any specific dietary requirements of discharged patients.
Spirit of the Community, Individual: John Tayer, Roche Colorado. John is recognized for his multiple years of giving back to the community. John serves on several area non-profit and civic boards, and also serves as First Vice Chair and Distrit O (Boulder Area) representative on the RTD Board of Directors.
Corporate Spirit of the Community: IBM Boulder. IBM is one of Foothills United Way's most long-standing corporate partners. Not only a monetary contributor, IBM is also a major technology sponsor and source of volunteers for area non-profits.
Also presented today was the Bebe Price Award for Community Service, given annually to a young person who exhibits excellence in volunteerism in our community. This year’s winner was Chiara Myers, who has volunteered for four years with Safe Shelter of St. Vrain Valley in the TERA (Teens Ending Relationship Abuse) Program.
Foothills United Way would like to say a tremendous "thank you" to all those in our community who work every day to LIVE UNITED. And congratulations again to all of this year's award winners!
