United Way of Ashland County exceeds campaign goal

ASHLAND – With $1,002,313 raised for its 2018 Faces of Change campaign, United Way of Ashland County exceeded its campaign goal by $27,313.

The announcement was made at the United Way chapter’s annual meeting Tuesday as hundreds of people gathered to celebrate a successful year. 

Executive director Stacey Schiemann and volunteer campaign chairs Aaron and Aubrey Bates credited an anonymous donor’s $50,000 matching gift with pushing what had been a slower-than-usual campaign over and above the goal this year.

The matching gift came in early February, when the United Way had risen about 92 percent of its $975,000 goal.

“This is when I really began to see how special this community is, because we were contacting some people that had already given, and they said, ‘Yes.’ People really were willing to stretch,” Aaron Bates said. 

Board president Michelle Vanderzyden thanked everyone who contributed to the campaign as volunteers and donors for showing Ashland’s giving spirit. 

“Ashland is authentic. We are who we say we are,” she said. “We love our neighbors, and we show it. It isn’t always something we say — We are not flashy people. But it is something we do, and it is something we feel.”

Schiemann said while her first annual campaign season as United Way director was daunting and challenging, it also helped her see just how important United Way is to the Ashland community. 

“The need in this community is great, but the generosity of our community is greater,” she said. 

For the 2018 campaign season, Schiemann said, United Way leaders focused on streamlining what worked well in the past and adding new offerings like a successful Oktoberfest event that will be repeated this year.

“This has become a year of meshing and melding together traditions, old and new,” said Aubrey Bates.

Schiemann said campaign committee members Tom McGee and Ron Leddy were especially helpful in leading the way this year. Both were recipients of the J. Robert Tipton Volunteer of the Year Award.

A new award, the Rising Star Award, was presented this year to recognize someone newer to United Way who contributed heavily and with enthusiasm. That award went to Cameron Peden, another member of the campaign committee. 

United Way also welcomed two new board members, Jeremy Harrison of Spire Advertising and retired mayor Glen Stewart. Todd and Krissy Geren were named 2019 campaign co-chairs.