The United Way of Southwest Alabama will host its annual meeting and award luncheon on Wednesday, Sept. 10, from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. at the Grove Hill Senior Center.
What the Event Covers
The organization will present volunteer awards and campaign awards, celebrating local leadership and honoring outstanding service. The meeting will also look ahead to plans for the coming year.
An annual meeting serves a dual purpose for a regional nonprofit. It closes the books publicly on the prior campaign — recognizing the volunteers and workplace campaigns that drove it — and it sets out the priorities and goals for the year that follows, in front of the audience whose participation will determine whether those goals are met.
Location and Details
The Grove Hill Senior Center is located at 113 Clarke Street in Grove Hill.
The event is free and open to the public, but registration is required. Advance registration allows organizers to plan seating and meal counts, which is standard for a luncheon-format meeting.
Volunteer and Campaign Awards
The two award categories reflect the two forms of support a United Way depends on.
Volunteer awards recognize individual service — the board members, campaign chairs, agency volunteers and community advocates who contribute time. Campaign awards recognize the workplace giving campaigns run by area employers, which remain the backbone of United Way fundraising across the country.
For a rural county like Clarke, employer participation is particularly consequential, because the number of large workplaces is limited and each participating employer represents a meaningful share of the total campaign.
Who Should Attend
The event is open to anyone interested in the organization’s work in Clarke County and the surrounding area — including volunteers, employees of participating workplaces, representatives of partner agencies, and residents who want a clearer picture of where local United Way dollars go.
Because the meeting includes a look at plans for the year ahead, it is also the most direct opportunity for residents to hear the organization’s priorities described firsthand rather than through a campaign brochure.
Registering
Registration is required for the free luncheon. Those interested in attending should contact United Way of Southwest Alabama to reserve a seat ahead of the Sept. 10 date.