Thank You!
The United Way of Greater Lima is pleased to announce a fantastic fund-raising year. The 2021 campaign was a great success as we raised just over $1.6 Million for community members in need. A special thanks to all of our donors that made this possible! We saw amazing support of the community through many ways in our 2021 campaign. When we are 100% All-IN, our impact on the community is tremendous as we provided 42,976 services to individuals in our community within the last year!
A statement from the President & CEO
The United Way of Greater Lima is extremely fortunate to have such a supportive community in Allen County. Thanks to our partners- small businesses, unions, local schools, corporate and individual, we were able to go beyond our goal and reach an amount that we have not seen since 2018.
I am always amazed at the people and companies in this community who support the United Way of Greater Lima's campaign year after year. This support means so much to our partner agencies who run the programs that your dollars fund. If not for you, we would not be able to help children, young adults, working parents and the elderly reach their highest level of potential. If not for you, they would struggle to be healthy, get a good education which in turn would afford them financial stability.
The staff and I want to thank each and everyone of you for your continued support.
Erin W. Hardesty
President & CEO
The United Way of Greater Lima
We are so grateful for all of the wonderful award winners in our community! Here are our 2021 award winners!
The 2021 Employee Campaign Champion of the Year is Jessica Eutsler from Lima Memorial Health Systems!
The 2021 Corporate Partner of the Year Award goes to Cenovus Lima Refinery & USW 624!
The 2021 Non-Profit of the year Award goes to the Allen County Board of Developmental Disabilities!
The Partner Agency of the Year goes to Area Agency on Aging 3!
The 2021 Union Partner of the Year Award goes to Jack Miller from Lima Building Trades!
The 2021 Volunteer of the Year Award goes to Kaelan Swallow from Shawnee Schools!
Betsy Winget received the Paul Woehlke Volunteer Appreciation Award in honor of the numerous ways she has offered her time and talents to serve the community. The award is named after longtime United Way supporter Paul Woehlke, who died of cancer in 2016.
“Betsy volunteers all over the community. But for the United Way, she was instrumental in helping set up 2-1-1, which is the referral source that anyone can call [to learn about volunteer opportunities],” Erin Hardesty, President and CEO of the United Way of Greater Lima, said. “She comes into the office two days a week, and she took on the Women United committee and ran with it. There’s just a multitude of things. I don’t think I could list them all.”
Winget described herself as speechless when she heard her name announced, “which is rare for me,” she said. When asked about her motivation to volunteer at the United Way and in other capacities, she said the seeds for that drive were planted early.
“I was born and raised in Lima,” she said. “My mother and father were both active in the community, and my dad used to tell us three kids, ‘You have a responsibility to give back to the community.’ That, to me, is extremely important. I’ve always volunteered, and I knew when I retired, I just wanted that to be magnified for the organizations I’m passionate about, and I just love every minute of it.”