A new giving season has officially begun! United Way of Palm Beach County celebrated by hosting an exclusive Season Premiere Party at Manatee Lagoon on October 26, 2022, for our supporters to kick off the season with us. This immersive experience was a great opportunity for champions of our community to See the impact, Feel connected to solutions, and Be the Heart of PBC in our interactive areas while meeting like-minded people.
This event incorporated four interactive stations and activities. These stations each showcased how United Way of Palm Beach County has made an impact in the community in our investment areas of stabilizing families, helping youth succeed, and empowering healthy lives. In the first station, our guests were able to See the impact by reading several boards depicting our 2022 community impact data and statements from members of the community that have had their lives changed by the efforts and dedication of our funded agencies. At the next station, our guests had the chance to Feel connected to solutions by packing 120 hygiene kits for Kings Point, a Senior Living Community in Delray Beach that was impacted by Hurricane Ian. The final station was all about how our guests can Be the Heart of PBC. In this station, our guests took the next step to getting involved with us by donating online, signing up to volunteer, or joining one of our membership groups. Our last interactive activity gave everyone the chance to enter our photo booth, place a heart on our map of Palm Beach County, and take some fun photos.
Our guests were invited to bring along a friend so members of our community who may not know a lot about our organization can learn how United Way of Palm Beach County serves our neighbors in need and how they can get involved. We set out to create a space for our community to not only see just how many champions for Palm Beach County there are just like them, but also to feel like they are a part of our mission to ensure that everyone in Palm Beach County has access to the basics.
We spoke with three United Way of Palm Beach County staff members about why this event is so important to them:
“I am so excited for our guests to be able to experience United Way in a dynamic and interactive setting that truly shares our mission, vision, and big plans for this season.” – Caroline Frazier, Director of Donor Engagement
“I am really looking forward to seeing more friends out here tonight. We have a great response from our current supporters with them bringing more people, which is exciting. This means we are getting more involvement in our community to help our neighbors in need. I am really excited to see everybody out here tonight having a good time and making it really feel like a family as we start to look at our new year here at United Way of Palm Beach County in a new light.” – Traver McLaughlin, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Communications
“There was great energy and a positive turnout for the Season Premiere event! We hope that our guests left the experience of this event more informed about the impact that they are having right here in Palm Beach County. We could not do this important work without our board, affinity groups, agency partners, and supporters, and we thank them for strengthening our community. Looking forward to an exciting year ahead.” – Laurie George, President & CEO
We also spoke with some of our guests to hear about their experience and motivation for joining us at this event:
“We are currently not a funded organization with United Way, but we want to be because we respect and admire the work United Way does in our community. We want to get involved, partner with them, and meet other like-minded organizations like us. It’s fun for us all to be together in one room, all of us great community providers.” – Terri Neil, Lighthouse for the Blind of the Palm Beaches
“I think the event was amazing. There was a great turnout. There were a lot of amazing people. United Way is all about giving back to the community. Through the event, you really understand the power of networking. Through honest connection, engagement, and interaction with people, you really can impact communities and organizations. I love that and hope to be a part of the continued growth and success of United Way of Palm Beach County.” – Shekinah Holliday, Northwestern Mutual
“Very excited to see all the great people from Tocqueville tonight as the new Tocqueville Cabinet Chair. This is going to be a wonderful event for people to bring their friends and make sure that we have more people here a part of United Way of Palm Beach County to support our community.” – Donna Glenn, NCCI
We are so thankful for the generous supporters and sponsors that helped make this event possible! Thank you Deloitte, FPL, NCCI, Tito’s Handmade Vodka, and Lesser, Lesser, Landy and Smith PLLC. Your dedication to serving our community and helping those in need is very appreciated.
Click here to see the gallery of photos taken by Tracey Benson Photography!
Click here to view the photo booth photos courtesy of Simple Booth!
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