Jelly Pancake House was packed with energy and excitement as the Lake Area United Way and their Vanguard supporters gathered to welcome their newest President and CEO, Lisa Daugherty on the morning of Tuesday, March 17, 2015. Supporters attended bright and early at 7:30a.m. to enjoy a delightful speech by Lisa along with a delicious breakfast.
Shellie Dell, Donor Relations & Marketing Manager of LAUW, said, “We are really happy to host to our donors and sponsors a few events during the year, as they are an important backbone to United Way. We are going through a transition from being a provider of many organizations to more of a collective impact, where we tackle root causes and find solutions to those, while bringing more organizations to the table. Instead of a band-aid fix, we look at origin issues in our area and attack those so they go away for good.”
“This was an open invitation to our vanguard donors, who are leaders in the community. This is my first opportunity to meet with them and tell them what I see for United Way in the future, and of course to get feedback, because that is very important," explained Daugherty. "Our transition is a marathon, not a sprint, and it’s going to take patience and a lot of support from the community.”
Jelly Pancake House is also part of the vanguard in our community. Rochelle Huges, Jelly Pancake House manager said of their community-based reputation, “I think it begins with our owners. They’ve been involved in the community since they were children; first and foremost to assist in preventing hunger. We are involved in the Food Bank of Northwest Indiana along with many churches that are proactive for helping people in need. I love the people behind Jelly, and I support them one hundred percent.”
The Vanguard is a special group of high-level supporters for the Lake Area United Way who meet regularly throughout the year to help best determine how to give, advocate, and volunteer on behalf of the LAUW.
Ruth Best attended the Vanguard Breakfast because she has been a long time supporter of United Way. “I’m so supportive of LAUW because they do their homework; with the agencies that they support, and they really want to have an impact on the community in a positive manner. They have a new CEO and I’m looking forward to what she has to say about the future."
Based upon the good energy, smiles, and laughter of the Vanguard breakfast, one could conclude that LAUW and their supporters feel fortunate to have a new CEO who plans to implement positive transitions!