United Way of Pueblo County

United Way of Pueblo County
2014 Winter Newsletter
The season of joy and hope are upon us. We are filled with joy, hope AND
gratitude as we wrap up another calendar year. The source of our appreciation
is you. When you give to United Way, you may not know it, but you really are a
community champion for many different causes and many individuals of all ages
and backgrounds. Whether you are a donor, advocate, or volunteer, we know it
is you who have helped spread hope throughout our community. We extend our
utmost gratitude to you for being our community champion, and wish you a very
blessed holiday and new year.
Front row: Bernadette Albo, UW Finance Director; Judith Boudreaux, VITA Coordinator; Valarie Ruybal, UW
Mentor Coordinator; Tracy Martinez, US Bank; Andrea Aragon, UW President & CEO; Bianca Hicks, UW Resource
Development Coordinator; Sandy Romero, Bechtel Pueblo Team; Michelle Peulen, Parkview Medical Center; Paula
Chostner, Pueblo City Schools; Bret Jones, Black Hills Energy
Second row: Mitch Meminger, UW Chair, Trane Company; Dave Galli, Community Banks of Colorado; Bonnie
Dickerson, Vestas; Matt Smith, Snap Fitness 24/7; John Batey, Urban Renewal Authority; Lawrence Kochis, UW
Campaign Director; Ted Ortiviz, Pueblo Housing Authority; Doug Hayes, UTC Aerospace Systems; John Keilbach,
Altman, Keilbach, Lytle, Parliapiano & Ware, PC
Not Pictured: Donna Leach, UW Administrative Assistant; Jenny Eickelman, Assistant City Manager of Pueblo;
Dominic Gallina, Wells Fargo Bank; Ruben Roman, Xcel Energy; Rick Scholtes, Target Distribution Center
9th Annual Small Business Blitz
United Way of Pueblo County recently wrapped up the
ninth annual small business blitz to promote Pueblo area
small businesses who pledged a contribution to benefit
the 2014 community campaign.
Businesses who pledged $50 or more received two
one-year subscriptions for the price of one from The
Pueblo Chieftain, announcement of business name on
NewsTalk 590KCSJ, a bonus commercial for every
commercial purchased on KPHT 95.5, 590KCSJ, or
Fox Sports Radio 1350, 50 free commercials with any
$500 new or current advertising schedule through
Comcast Spotlight, a free business consultation
session and 30 percent discount with the Small
Business Development Center, Sam’s Club
Partnership Membership Program discount, and
were also included in United Way’s Small Business
advertisement in The Pueblo Chieftain on Sunday,
November 23, and listed in United Way’s newsletter, on
UWPC’s website and Facebook page.
Participating businesses were also entered into three
drawings to win 100 free 30-second spots on Comcast
cable channels, eight hours of free staffing from Express
Employment Professionals, or a $25 Sam’s Club
gift card. This year’s winners were: Karen Trujillo –
RE/MAX of Pueblo West – 100 free spots, Rice
Root Accounting – eight hours of free staffing,
and Royal Electrical Services – $25 gift card.
Congratulations!
United Way would like to thank the following
generous businesses for their support as well as
our sponsors who made this blitz possible.
PARTICIPATING BUSINESSES
• AFLAC - Jackie Chacon Tack
• David Anderson, CRS RE/MAX of Pueblo West
• Angelos Pizza
• Anzuini Architecture & Development
• Azteca Apartments
• Bingo Casino
• Cardinal Points Surveying
• Challenger Point LTD
• CTI Corporate Technologies, Inc
• Fesmire Heating & Air Conditioning,
LLC
• James R. Hadley – RE/MAX of Pueblo
• Grand Rental Center
• Hewitt & Couch, P.C.
• Industrial Constructors/Managers (ICM)
• Koehler Wealth Management
• Koncilja & Koncilja PC
• Land Title Guarantee Company
• Latino Chamber of Commerce
• Little Caesars Pizza
• MAXPRO Cleaning Services, LLC
• Mister Penguin Tuxedo Sales & Rentals
2 – United Way of Pueblo County
• Montgomery & Steward Funeral Home
• Park East Restaurant
• Prutch’s Garage Door Company, Inc.
• Pueblo Government Agencies Federal
Credit Union
• Pueblo’s Best Carpet Cleaning
• Rice Root Accounting Services
• Rosemount Museum
• Royal Electrical Service, Inc.
• Schmidt, Valentine, Whittemore,
& Co. P.C.
• Schusters’ Printing Inc.
• Snap Fitness 24/7
• Sound Venture Realty
• Team Selle - RE/MAX of Pueblo West
• The Bugman Pest Control Services
• The Media Center
• The Spirit Store/Imprinted Sportswear
Shop
• The Ten Spot II LLC
• Tony P. Dell Accounting
• Karen Trujillo - RE/MAX of Pueblo West
• West-Tech Communications
GENEROSITY IS SERVED AT PARK EAST
P
Celebrity Waiters Break Record!
ark East Restaurant was the place to be in October,
as owners Terra & Jeff Riggio proclaimed October as United
Way month for the eighth year in a row! For the entire
month, the restaurant offered customers chances to win
three great prizes, including a $25 and $100 gift card as well
as Happy Hour office party valued at $300. A Halloween
costume party was also held with proceeds benefiting United
Way. In addition, during the week of October 20th through
the 25th, the Riggio’s donated 10% of the restaurants profits
to United Way. WOW!
To top it all off, the many festivities included two nights
of local celebrity waiters who engaged in a very spirited and
competitive battle against one another to see who could sell
the most chances to win Park East prizes. These amazing
waiters pulled out all the stops, and a new fundraising record
was set. Celebrity waiters included Matt Smith of Snap
Fitness, Aaron Aragon of Pueblo’s Best Carpet Cleaning,
Vern Larson of Major Mortgage, Ryan and Quinn Zabukovic
of Zabukovic Motors and Ray and Avri Swerdfeger of K.R.
Swerdfeger Construction.
“We are very grateful for our partnership with Park East
Restaurant,” said Andrea Aragon, President/CEO of United
Way of Pueblo County. “Terra has been amazingly generous
to United Way and she is always thinking of new and creative
ways to support and promote our
organization.” Please visit Park East
in the near future and when you do,
please thank Terra and her staff for
being such generous community
champions.
s a v ee
d a1 2t1 5
0fla3vor of pueblo
at pueblo conv
ention center
Celebrity
Waiters Aaron
Aragon, Vern
Larson, Matt
Smith and
Terra Riggio
Celebrity
Waiters
Quinn
Zabukovic,
Ryan
Zabukovic,
Terra
Riggio, Ray
Swerdfeger
and Avri
Swerdfeger
Celebrity
Waiters
Quinn
Zabukovic
and Avri
Swerdfeger
take a well
deserved
break from
fundraising.
Mark your calendar for the 10th Annual Flavor of Pueblo Food
and Wine Show taking place Thursday, March 12, 2015 from 5:00
to 7:30pm at the Pueblo Convention Center.
Enjoy the many spectacular Flavors of Pueblo at Pueblo’s premier food & wine event the 10th Annual Flavor of Pueblo Food & Wine Show! A delectable spread of food samples,
wine and beer from local restaurants and vendors will be yours to savor for just one low price.
Tickets will be available for a discounted advance ticket price AND all of the proceeds will benefit
United Way of Pueblo County funded programs!
Interested in highlighting your fanfare by joining us as a vendor? Contact Bianca at 719-583-4455/
bianca.hicks@co.pueblo.co.us or visit www.pueblounitedway.org/flavorofpueblo.
United Way of Pueblo County – 3
Every year,
United Way
funding touches
the lives of
thousands of
people
in Pueblo
County.
This is only
possible
through YOUR
donation. In
fact, United Way
funding touched
the lives of over
123,000
people in 2013.
Now that is
impact! While
this number is
significant, it
doesn’t begin to
illustrate how
lives can be
changed thanks
to your support.
United Way of
Pueblo County
4 – United Way of Pueblo County
United Way Hosts Greater Pueblo
Chamber After Hours with
Standard Sales/Budweiser
U
nited Way of Pueblo County and Standard Sales/Budweiser
joined forces to sponsor the Greater Pueblo Chamber of
Commerce Business After Hours held on Thursday, Nov. 20th at the
beautiful Waterfront banquet hall. This partnership, now in its tenth
year, allows United Way to share its mission and vision to a crowd of
more than 150 supporters. Hosting this event is another
generous example of how Jeff Horvat, general manager of
Standard Sales/ Budweiser and his staff continuously give
back to United Way AND the community of Pueblo. With
Thanksgiving being just days away, attendees were asked
to bring non-perishable food items to lend a helping hand
during the holidays. In an incredible show of kindness, several overflowing
boxes of food were collected during the event. The food was donated to Care
and Share Food Bank, via iHeart Media Pueblo’s Stuff the Bus event.
United Way would like to send a heartfelt thank you to Standard
Sales/Budweiser, Jeff and his staff, The
Waterfront and the Greater Pueblo
Chamber of Commerce for their support
with this event and their devotion to
serving the Pueblo community every day!
12th Annual Kids
Mitten Tree
The Pueblo Chieftain’s Mitten
Tree serves as a way to help
children in need of proper
clothing for the cold winter
months. Over the years, the Mitten Tree has
become quite a tradition for the employees
at The Pueblo Chieftain as well as numerous
community donors. The tree is set up in the
Classified Department where givers can donate
various new items to fill and decorate the tree.
These wonderful donors do their part to make
a difference in the lives of the youth in need,
keeping them warm and cozy each winter.
“The Pueblo Chieftain Classified Department
is honored to host the annual Mitten Tree,”
said Kristi Lauer of The Pueblo Chieftain. “Every
year, we gather hundreds of hats, gloves, socks,
and scarves, which are all generously donated
by our customers. This year, our twelfth year
sponsoring the Mitten Tree event, we look
forward to warming the hearts of Pueblo’s
children.”
Donations are distributed through United
Way of Pueblo County. Past beneficiaries of
the Mitten Tree include: A Caring Pregnancy
Center, Bargain Box (Assistance League), CASA
of Pueblo, Cooperative Care Center, East Side
Child Care Center, Holiday Blessing Store,
the Infant &
Toddler Program
at Colorado
Bluesky, Los
Pobres, Luv In
Action, Posada,
Pueblo Child Advocacy Center,
Pueblo Head Start, Rocky
Mountain SER, Salvation Army
& The Angel Tree Program,
Southside Children’s Center,
Washington Children’s Center
& YWCA.
Donations have been
accepted through December 18,
2014 in The Pueblo Chieftain
Classified Department. We
would like to thank everyone
involved with the Mitten Tree
for their continued support!
United Way of Pueblo County – 5
Latino Chamber Holiday Happy Hour
and 3rd Annual Festival of Trees
Decorating Competition and Auction
United Way of Pueblo County was pleased to partner again with the
Latino Chamber of Commerce for the Holiday Happy Hour and 3rd
Annual Festival of Trees Decorating Competition and Auction
at the Pueblo Union Depot on December 11. More than 28 creatively
decorated mini 4ft trees were auctioned at the Holiday Happy Hour. A
portion of the proceeds from the Festival benefited United Way funded
programs.
For a $25 entry fee, area businesses and individuals decorated the mini
trees to their hearts desire, using elaborate, fun themes to draw high bids
and represent their organizations. The trees attracted much attention and
the auction was a great success!
Tis the season for joy and camaraderie as attendees were able to
admire the trees, enjoy the holiday spirit, and mix and mingle with
Latino Chamber members and United Way
supporters.
United Way would like to thank the Latino
Chamber of Commerce, Sandy and her staff, for
their support and all they do serve the Pueblo
community, and all of this year’s participants
for their incredible efforts!
Missed out on the fun? Plan to join us next
year for this growing tradition!
United Way Staff
ANDREA ARAGON
President/CEO
LAWRENCE KOCHIS
AFL-CIO/Campaign Director
BERNADETTE ALBO
Finance Director
BIANCA HICKS
Resource Development Coordinator
DONNA LEACH
Administrative Asstistant
VALARIE RUYBAL
Mentor Coordinator
JUDITH BOUDREAUX
VITA Program Coordinator
UNITED WAY OF PUEBLO COUNTY COLORADO INC.
12/2014 Winter Edition
PUBLISHED: OCTOBER & DECEMBER
Issue: Number 8
United Way of Pueblo County
PO Box 11566, Pueblo, CO 81001
6 – United Way of Pueblo County
Angelo’s Pizza Parlor/United Way
Mark your calendar to join Angelo’s Pizza Parlor
during the month of March in support of
United Way of Pueblo County!
Come enjoy great food and beautiful views of the
Riverwalk - Additional details coming soon!
105 E. Riverwalk
Pueblo, Colorado
(719) 544-8588
FREE INCOME TAX E-FILING
Qualifying households ($52,000 or less) can have their taxes prepared by trained, IRScertified volunteer tax preparers at no cost to ensure they receive all of the tax credits they
deserve, including the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Child Tax Credit (CTC).
FRBRUARY 2 - APRIL 15
MONDAY
NeighborWorks of pueblo
1241 E. Routt Ave.
1:00 - 4:00pm
TUESDAY
Fulton Heights rec. Center
1331 Santa Rosa (Salt Creek)
10:00am - 2:00pm
Dolores Huerta prep High
2727 W. 18th St.
4:30pm - 7:00pm
(site closed March 24th)
WEDNESDAY
rawlings library
100 E. Abriendo Ave. (3rd Floor)
10:30am - 4:30pm
THURSDAY
Dolores Huerta prep High
2727 W. 18th St.
4:30pm - 7:00pm
(site closed March 26th)
CSu—pueblo (February Only)
(Library, 3rd floor TRIO office)
2200 Bonforte Blvd
9:00am - 12:00pm
FRIDAY
intellitec College
3673 Parker Blvd.
9:00am - 12:00pm
DID YOU KNOW?
An estimated $7,074,608 was left on the table by families
that did not take advantage of the tax credits they
deserve, resulting in an estimated loss of $2,258,203
that could have benefited the Pueblo community?
VITA is a service to aid individuals and families and can positively impact the community through retaining
financial resources that often would not have been realized otherwise. Volunteers are recruited from the
community and are IRS trained and certified to prepare taxes. Customers on average receive larger refunds
and more tax credits than those who do not receive VITA services, along with saving considerable sums of
money that may have been paid for fee-based tax preparation. Sponsored in part by the City of Pueblo and the
County of Pueblo.
For more information, call 719-296-8768, 9am - 5pm.
United Way of Pueblo County – 7
Christmas is forever, not for just one day,
for loving, sharing, giving, are not to put away
like bells and lights and tinsel, in some box upon a shelf.
The good you do for others is good you do yourself...
~Norman Wesley Brooks, “Let Every Day Be Christmas,” 1976
THANK YOU FOR YOUR AMAZING SUPPORT!
Your United Way Staff
Andrea Aragon, Lawrence Kochis, Bernadette Albo,
Bianca Hicks, Donna Leach, Valarie Ruybal
& Judith Boudreaux
Return Service Requested
United Way of Pueblo County Colorado Inc.
PO Box 11566
Pueblo, CO 81001
719-583-4455
Pueblo, CO
Permit No. 105
PAID
Non-Profit Organization
U.S. Postage