The nonprofit United Way of Southern Kentucky last Wednesday recognized those who’ve, through its connections, contributed to community initiatives — from book distribution for young children, to three expansive volunteer events, to donations that sustained the 211 call center.

Held at the Sloan Convention Center, the annual “Live United” celebration honored how UWSK’s supporters have given, advocated and volunteered this past year. While some initiatives such as 211 get much support from city and county governments, most UWSK funding comes from people working for local businesses — with the top 10 providing about $1 million, UWSK Executive Vice President Ellie Harbaugh said.

“We could not impact the community like we do without our donors and our volunteers,” Harbaugh said.

UWSK, sponsorship and a partnership with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library enabled the distribution of 111,000 books to children under age 5 across the region. About 3,500 kits comprising activities and items to prepare the children for kindergarten were distributed to the age group regionwide, Harbaugh added.

The 211 call center has provided about 14,600 referrals to nonprofit agencies for 11,276 individuals and families over 109,196 minutes on the phone.

UWSK also organizes, among other events, three huge annual volunteer opportunities: Read Across America, where people read books to kids; Feed the Need, where volunteers collect food for local pantries; and Day of Caring, where community members work on local projects.

“They are a connector for the community,” ELPO Law Chief Marketing Officer Ashley Carter said of the 14-staff UWSK. “They know who these agencies are (…) and with their allocations process, who the funding should go to — and are they going to make the most and best use of those dollars …

“… When you donate and give to an agency or charity, you may not always know what it’s going toward, if it’s staying local. But with (UWSK), they do that work for you, and the dollars do stay local, and they really do play a big role in the community with connecting people to services and making sure they’re getting the help that they need.”

ELPO Law, which has operated here for more than 50 years, secured the annual Live United award among organizations with fewer than 200 staff.

“… It’s just so important to give back in order to really be rooted here,” Carter added. “We work and live right alongside the other community members and our clients, so it’s always been important that we be involved in the community through community service, serving on boards, volunteering …

“We don’t do things like this for the recognition, but I think any time you are recognized by your peers and you see the excitement around that with the staff, it really was a great feeling … To be acknowledged and receive the reward, it really meant a lot, and we’re very honored to have been chosen.”

Logan Aluminum donated the most, followed by General Motors and UAW Local 2164; American Bank & Trust, the City of Bowling Green, Fruit of the Loom, Logan Aluminum and Trace Die Cast had the greatest fraction of employees who volunteered through UWSK’s connections; General Motors and UAW Local 2164 won the annual Live United award for companies with 200-plus staff.