by United Way of Berks County
United Way of Berks County recognized its top supporters and highlighted its community programs that tackle key community issues at its Celebrate United event last week.
Three awards were presented at the event:
- The Impact Award was shared with the Reading School District for its United Way campaign achievements and its partnership in delivering the Read Alliance program, which changes the trajectory of students’ lives. United Way’s Read Alliance program, in partnership with Reading School District, is a building block for academic and life success. The program pairs high school student tutors with first graders to teach an evidence-based program to boost reading skills. The teens gain leadership and job skills, and the first graders achieve measurable reading progress.
- The Tradition in Caring Award was presented to John and Karen Arnold. Through their generosity and their Kindness Coalition Foundation, they helped grow United Way’s Leadership Giving Program and provided leadership as last year’s Campaign Co-Chairs.
- The Wilbur H. Doran Award was presented to Patricia Giles, president of The Wyomissing Foundation. This award honors an individual who has shared an unwavering commitment to the community and United Way; the award is the highest level of distinction. Pat led United Way’s Community Impact Division for 16 years and, during that time, led the development of the organization’s Ready.Set.READ! program, which is designed to improve early-grade reading proficiency. Pat is known as a “change agent” throughout Berks County. She also was instrumental in the formation of the Berks Community Health Center for the community.
Also, during the event, the 2024 Campaign Chairs were introduced. For the first time, the campaign will be led by a trio of individuals. Serving in this role is a trio from Penske Transportation Solutions: Kelly Fessler, Mike Duff, and Dharma Sivasamy. Together, they have a combined 30 years of experience leading United Way activities. Mike Duff previously chaired the 2011 Campaign with his wife, Diane. Dharma and Kelly have been leading Penske’s company campaign for several years.
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Source: bctv