United Way of Bucks County will host Annual Breakfast & Awards on Friday, May 4
By Samantha Bambino
The Times
Hundreds of donors, advocates and volunteers will come together bright and early this Friday to celebrate the common thread that binds them all — United Way of Bucks County. Beginning at 7:30 a.m. at Spring Mill Manor in Ivyland, the nonprofit is hosting its Annual Breakfast & Awards, one of the largest events of the year that unites local individuals and businesses working to assist UW Bucks in its mission to change lives in the community.
Featuring awards, prizes and more, the breakfast will highlight UW Bucks’ accomplishments over the past year, as well as the various opportunities to get involved in 2018. Founded in 1952, the Fairless Hills and Doylestown-based organization collaborates with key players in the education, health and financial fields to host a number of initiatives aimed at strengthening Bucks County.
Signature programs include Stuff the Bus, which collected more than 2,200 backpacks full of basic school supplies last year; Operation Helping Hand, a one-day, countywide food drive that gathered 47,309 pounds of nonperishable food for the benefit of 31 local pantries in 2017; #girlSTEM, a conference that introduces more than 800 girls from across Bucks County to the fields of science, technology, engineering and math; the Holiday Gift Card Drive, which ensures local teens have something to look forward to on Christmas morning; and most recently, the Bet on Success Casino Night fundraiser.
For the staff at UW Bucks, organizing these oftentimes life-changing programs wouldn’t be possible without community support. That’s why the annual breakfast remains such a highly anticipated event — it’s the perfect way to say “thank you.”
Throughout the morning, UW Bucks will recognize several individuals for the impact they’ve made over the years. Receiving the Dr. Stanton Kelton Service Award, which recognizes a board member who has significantly contributed to the goals of the organization, will be Catherine McElroy, a dedicated community member.
Brian Jeter, senior director of government affairs at Comcast, is the winner of the Paul Sauerby Award, which honors a volunteer who has embraced leadership, encouraged volunteerism and dedicated time and creativity to their endeavors with UW Bucks.
For the first time this year, UW Bucks will distribute a new honor — the Distinguished Service Award — to a colleague who truly exemplifies what it means to “Live United.” Receiving this special honor will be Patricia Gallagher, who dedicated more than 30 years to the organization as its office manager.
“I was totally shocked and surprised,” she said of the award.
Though Gallagher has recently taken leave due to a disability, her welcoming presence at the front desk will always remain. A Bensalem native and current Levittown resident, the Neshaminy High School graduate entered the workforce by landing a sales job at a local shopping center, which unfortunately closed after some time.
Gallagher needed a job, and soon found herself interviewing for an office manager position with UW Bucks. Going into it, she admits she wasn’t entirely familiar with the organization and its mission. But she liked what she heard, and so did the hiring manager, who offered her the job on the spot. Now, more than three decades later, Gallagher revels in the fact she was able to have a hand in helping UW Bucks grow its programs, especially the Holiday Gift Card Drive, for which she always had a particular passion.
Additional awards will be given to SUEZ Water Technologies & Solutions, Penn Community Bank and Bucks County Community College, among other UW Bucks partners. ••
If you go…
United Way of Bucks County’s Annual Breakfast & Awards will take place Friday, May 4, beginning at 7:30 a.m. at Spring Mill Manor, 171 Jacksonville Road, Ivyland.
Tickets are now on sale for $40 (or $320 for a table of 10) at uwbucks.org/annualbreakfast or by contacting Katie Matarazzo at katiem@uwbucks.org or 215–949–1600, ext. 101.
All tickets for the event are E-tickets. Once you make your purchase online, your name will automatically appear on the list at the door.
For anyone who cannot attend, follow the event live on Twitter at @uwbucks or by searching #maythe4thbucks and #bucksunited.
Samantha Bambino can be reached at sbambino@newspapermediagroup.com
