Special Events

The Lakes Region United Way hosts various events every year. Some are annual, some are seasonal, some are fundraising, some are awareness raising, and some are just for fun! There is often a need for volunteers at these events. Please follow the links below for more information. View our Events Calendar. Quick Links to Special Events: On-Going - LIVING UNITED in the Lakes Region On-Going - Annual Campaign February - Sweetheart Auction May - Annual Celebration May through September - Meadowbrook 50/50 Raffles September - Breakfast of Champions September - Day of Caring

February – Sweetheart Auction

View the current auction page here. Every year, just before Valentine's Day, Patrick's Pub & Eatery in Gilford hosts our annual Sweetheart Auction. Local businesses and individuals donate items for auction, and the bidding is fast and furious with volunteer auctioneer extraordinaire P.K. Zyla leading the auction action. Over the past six years, this auction has raised over $100,000. Donate an item to our next Sweetheart Auction by emailing us at: lruw@lruw.org

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May – Annual Celebration

Our annual meeting is a community celebration, recognizing the commitment we all have to making the Lakes Region a better place to live and work. During the evening we hand out the Sara Allen Award in recognition of the most improved Service Delivery Program of the year, the Nighswander Chertok award for campaign of the year, and the Captain Ralph Bristol Award for volunteer of the year. This year our annual event was Wednesday, May 6th. 

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May through September – Meadowbrook 50/50 raffles

Click here for winning numbers!

For the last five years, Lakes Region United Way has teamed up with Meadowbrook U.S. Cellular Pavilion to hold a 50/50 raffles during the summer concert seasons. At most shows, our volunteers sell raffle tickets to the crowd of concertgoers. The winning ticket holder and LRUW split the proceeds each evening. Nearly $144,000 has been raised since we began the raffles in the summer of 2003!

Please visit Meadowbrook often, enjoy their fabulous shows, and be sure to purchase your Lakes Region United Way 50/50 Raffle Tickets while you're there. New this year - present one of our raffle tickets at the Meadowbrook box office and receive a $5 discount to any future show! 

For the past few seasons, The Citizen newspaper has generously shared its base of operations tent with us. Representatives of The Citizen will be at most shows giving away free copies of the newspaper, so please stop by the tent & purchase your United Way 50/50 raffle tickets and pick up a free copy of the latest paper while you're there! We would like to thank The Citizen for their generosity, which enables us to significantly reduce our raffle administration expenses.

We are grateful to the Harding family and the wonderful staff at Meadowbrook for their continuing support and partnership and for making this opportunity possible, and grateful to all of the concertgoers who played our raffle and made the last five seasons a success, and offer our congratulations to all of the lucky winners. And last but certainly not least, we also wish to thank our ticket selling volunteers for their spectacular job!

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September – Breakfast of Champions

Breakfast of Champions is a fun event for our volunteer Employee Campaign Coordinators, those folks who handle our campaign at their various workplaces. At this free breakfast we preview the upcoming campaign, trade stories and get to know each other.

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September – Day of Caring

Save the date: September 18, 2009

Day of Caring is an annual event that gathers together volunteers from all over the Lakes Region to assist local care-giving agencies and other non-profits. Employees from local businesses and organizations who wish to volunteer their time are matched with care-givers to complete projects that may otherwise not get done.

Projects usually included painting, landscaping, working with senior citizens and day care kids, office and computer work, making baby blankets and other infant needs and MUCH, MUCH MORE!!

If your company would like to participate in the next Day of Caring by sending volunteers or donating materials, contact Judi Taggart at 524-6864 ext 104.

Visit the Day of Caring Page

View Photos from the Day of Caring

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On-going - Annual Campaign

While most people associate the fall season with the United Way's annual campaign because most of the activity and fan-fare occurs then, the truth is that the campaign is going year-round and is based upon our April – March fiscal year. Indeed, we have pace-setters, notably Pike Industries, GMI Asphault and Miracle Farms Landscape Contractors, who hold their campaigns early every spring.

Learn how you can Get Involved in our annual campaign.

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On-going – LIVING UNITED in the Lakes Region

See what's happening this week on LIVING UNITED in the Lakes Region.

Join host Judi Taggart as she explores the social world, and the good news within, here in the Lakes Region. LIVING UNITED in the Lakes Region is a Lakes Region United Way show, designed to highlight the residents of the Lakes Region and how we work together to make it a better place for all to live. Filmed and hosted by Lakes Region Public Access and broadcast in the Lakes Region on Metrocast channel 25, tune in every Wednesday at 4:30 pm, 7 pm and 11:30 pm, Thursday at 8:30 am, Friday at 4:30 am and 4:30 pm, Monday at 7:30 pm and, for you night-owls, Tuesday at 3:30 am.

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