<Back to main News & Events page

UPS Surpasses $1 Billion Milestone in United Way Donations Nationwide

July 27, 2010—This summer, UPS, its employees and retirees will reach the exceptional milestone of $1 billion in total contributions to United Way since the company began its annual workplace campaigns in 1982. To show appreciation, United Way is thanking UPS drivers during the week of August 2-6 both on- and off-line.

“UPS is a driving force for change in our communities. The company and its employees continually raise the bar for United Way’s Global Corporate Leaders and are among our most valued partners,” said Brian Gallagher, president and CEO of United Way Worldwide. “Reaching a billion dollars in giving is a remarkable milestone. It not only speaks to generosity that is second-to-none, it’s indicative of their tireless and unwavering commitment to strengthening communities and improving lives throughout the world.”

In 2009, UPS’s total philanthropy reached nearly $100 million nationally, including more than $55 million from their workplace campaign. UPS has been the top national corporate giver to United Way for nine of the last 10 years. UPS employees and their families contributed more than 1.2 million hours of volunteer service last year through the company’s Global Volunteer Month and Neighbor-to-Neighbor program. UPS has twice won the United Way Spirit of America Award, United Way Worldwide’s highest national honor for corporate citizenship and measurable community impact.

UPS launched their 2010 efforts on July 12 with their first-ever building-wide kickoff event at the Minneapolis facility which featured speakers and a special event tricycle race. We applaud their work and thank them for setting a great course for the rest of us!

Get involved and thank your UPS driver at liveunited.org/thanksUPS.

More:
United Way Worldwide Press Release (PDF)
Local UPS and United Way Partnership

You're HIRED: United Way partner earns second Delta Innovation Award

After a rigorous selection process that pitted HIRED against nine other agencies, Delta has awarded the second grant in a 10-year program to HIRED, a United Way partner specializing in innovative micro-training strategies to connect disadvantaged workers to permanent employment.

Delta's Innovation Award grants $25,000 each of 10 years to a United Way partner agency for a total community investment of $250,000. Each year the grant will focus on one of United Way's 10 measurable goals. This year’s award supports our goal to help people increase their earnings.

Delta selected HIRED not only for their innovations, but their ability to share best practices with other job training programs. HIRED enrolls more than 10,000 people annually in programs designed for low-income adults, dislocated workers, welfare-to-work individuals, refugees and youth, in addition to providing recruitment and retention services for hundreds of employers each year.

HIRED clients—40 percent of whom are on public assistance, and 35 percent who are dislocated workers—have access to 24 spoken languages among the 180 staff members throughout 16 Twin Cities locations. Their valuable focus on training people for jobs that will be available rather than those that are outdated makes their success rate quite high. This grant will provide funding to explore new micro-training techniques and expand their training programs.

“HIRED is not only innovative, but also self-sustaining. Because they will be around for many years, we know this is a good investment,” said Rick Feltner, Delta’s corporate director of airport services. “As one of the state's largest employers, Delta is thrilled that we can help United Way and HIRED make Minneapolis/St. Paul a better place to live and work."

Match Fund Goal Met—$1.5 Million Raised to Generate Community Support

Once again, the generosity of our community shines—we set a goal to build a match fund of $1.5 million and are proud to announce that our goal has been achieved!

Our $1 million Financial Services Fund will be used to match donations at different giving community levels: Emerging Leaders, WINGs (Women Investing in the Next Generation), Community Builders, and Women’s Leadership Council. Each of these giving communities offer year-round engagement opportunities for donors, providing easy and meaningful ways to make a difference in our community. Learn about our Giving Communities.

CHS will provide a Basic Needs Match to encourage donors to direct their funds towards United Way’s basic needs area. This match will not only increase participation in your campaign, but will help those who are in immediate crisis with food, shelter and safety.

Land O’Lakes will again be matching donations of new Tocqueville Society donors, those that contribute $10,000 or more. The 2009 Land O’Lakes Tocqueville Match helped generate additional Tocqueville donors and will surely continue an upward trend in membership this year!

New Campaign to Increase Access to Nutritious Food

June 15, 2010—United Way and the Twin Cities Hunger Initiative have teamed up for a new campaign targeting adults 60 and older by challenging them to Eat Well To Be Well.

The launch event, held at Midtown Global Market, educated seniors and their caregivers on the benefits of food stamps and dispelling the myths. It featured a cooking demonstration and presentations from nutrition and senior services experts.

Though the economy has impacted everyone, older adults and retirees are especially affected—loss of investment wealth, and rising healthcare, housing and food costs have had a drastic impact on their limited incomes.

United Way's Amy Lopez introduces the program at the launch event

More:
Media Advisory (PDF)