|
August 1st, 2005
Jim Kennedy, III, chairman of Kenco, is the 2005 Community Campaign Chair for United Way of Greater Chattanooga whose fundraising campaign will officially kick off on Aug. 25.
Jim has been a long-time supporter of United Way, serving on the organization’s board of directors for about a decade. Last year, he led a successful Alexis de Tocqueville campaign, securing 79 donors who each invested $10,000 or more in the community through United Way. “His continued personal commitment to United Way through volunteer leadership and his desire to see our community succeed now and in the future, made Jim Kennedy an obvious choice for this demanding role as Campaign Chair,” said Eva Dillard, president of United Way.
Jim has already begun meeting with the chief executive officers of many of our community’s most influential companies who support United Way. He is encouraging these companies to rally their employees around the United Way effort to improve more lives. With the support of United Way staff and volunteers, more than 25 companies that did not participate in last year’s campaign have agreed to run employee campaigns this year.
His community involvement certainly goes beyond United Way. Some of his affiliations include past board memberships with several area nonprofits, including United Way partner agencies Goodwill Industries, YMCA, and Boys & Girls Club. Kennedy also served as the Annual Campaign Chairman for Allied Arts in 1999 and was the Founding President of the Chattanooga Area Food Bank.
“Over the years, I have been involved in several fund raising campaigns for some very worthy causes. None, however has the impact on the community that United Way has,” said Jim Kennedy. “Because it is able to bring together individuals, governments, businesses, and agency partners, United Way has a greater positive impact than any one agency could ever have alone.”
Jim has a personal goal to visit each of United Way’s partner agencies before the campaign ends.
“I really look forward to those calls, because I learn so much about the needs of our community and it reinforces how important it is that these programs are available for more people,” said Jim.
United Way of Greater Chattanooga funds 77 vital, local programs that strengthen families, improve community health and assure readiness for school and work. Thanks to an endowment fund that covers all overhead and administrative expenses, 100 percent of contributions go directly to these services to help individuals and families in greater Chattanooga, northwest Georgia and northeast Alabama.
|
