Orange County United Way’s annual Rally for Change brought together more than 340 corporate partners, philanthropists, community leaders, and advocates to recognize, celebrate and be inspired by those “Doing More” to create brighter futures for Orange County’s local children and families.

The event, with its rocket theme, encouraged the audience to take the community to new heights by blasting off in Orange County United Way’s mission to improve lives in the county.

“You are all part of our mission-critical team, making that trip to another stratosphere possible,” said Susan B. Parks, president and CEO of Orange County United Way.

A special thank you to the incredible event sponsors AT&T, Ernst & Young, Eaton Aerospace, Fluor Corporation, Anaheim Ducks, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, FirstService Residential, and The Word and Brown Companies for their support in making the annual celebration a success.

The committed group of individuals gathered at the rally included key leaders such as Garden Grove Mayor Steve Jones and Kate Alegria, a representative from the office of U.S. Congressman Harley Rouda.

Several community-minded individuals and companies were recognized at the event for their generosity and unparalleled corporate social responsibility, and for embracing Orange County United Way’s vision of a county where every person receives a quality education, is financially stable, is healthy and thriving, and has a place to call home.

The top honor went to Pacific Life, which received the Dimensions in Giving Award for demonstrating an incredible amount of generosity to their surrounding community. Pacific Life has a long history supporting United Way, and their executive management team, as well as their employees, volunteer countless hours to make an impact in our community. The company was also recently recognized by the Orange County Business Journal as the #1 in Local Corporate Giving for the entire county.

UPS received the Leadership Society Award for having the most leadership donors during their campaign last year, and for continuing to grow their partnership and engagement with United Way.

The Tocqueville Society Award was given to KPMG, which had the most Tocqueville donors (each contributing $10,000 or more annually) last year. Their incredible generosity and partnership extends into Orange County United Way committees and affinity groups, demonstrating their passion for helping others throughout the community.

The United4OC Awards recognized corporate partners of all sizes for being a powerful philanthropic force in our community.

In business with less than 150 local employees, Ware Malcomb was awarded for running a robust workplace giving campaign that engaged all of their employees through donation drives and volunteer events. Other nominees in this category included Burns & McDonnell, Crowell & Moring, Little and Snell & Wilmer.

In the second set of companies with 151 to 500 employees, Eaton Aerospace took home the award for their large number of leadership donors and generous support of several United Way events. Other nominees in this category included Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Ernst & Young, FirstService Residential and The Word & Brown Companies.

Bank of America received the United4OC Award for companies with 500 or more local employees. The banking leader was recognized for having more than 140 employees participate in the United to End Homelessness 101 Workshop, and for their critical role in the development of an impactful women’s empowerment series reaching more than 600 individuals and business leaders in Orange County last year. Other nominees in this category included Automobile Club of Southern California, Disneyland Resort, Edwards Lifesciences and Target.

A live social media wall at the event encouraged individuals to share on their own social networks how they are #DoingMore4OC. Guests who posted were entered into a random drawing for a chance to win great prizes throughout the event.

One lucky guest received a 14-person Anaheim Ducks hockey suite complete with two parking passes, and another  won a set of five plaza-level Ducks tickets.

Conclusion

Orange County United Way’s Rally for Change celebrates the power and impact of the many change agents in our community. Together with United Way, these power players in Orange County are committed to creating lasting change for residents of Orange County. Are you ready to join the community of individuals and leaders creating a better and brighter Orange County?