We were proud to present the United Way Alexis de Tocqueville Award® to Lynn and Rick Waugh for their long-time support of United Way in Canada and the Caribbean. In his remarks, Rick said, "United Way is about addressing local needs...and is one of the most effective nonprofits and strongest brands in the world...United Way is a brand you can trust. One that acts with integrity."
Wayne Wouters, a member of United Way Worldwide's Board of Trustees and Mark Fulford, Board Chair for United Way Turks and Caicos Islands presented the award.
Rick and Lynne’s involvement with United Way began at the local level with United Way Greater Toronto. Almost 30 years ago, early in Rick’s career with Scotiabank, Rick and Lynne both began to work with the United Way as community volunteers and donors. In fact, Rick led the United Way Greater Toronto campaign during their 50th Anniversary year, taking the campaign over the $100 million mark. Lynne, passionate that all seniors deserve to live with dignity and respect, created a yoga program designed especially for older participants, which is now up and running in 12 centers across Toronto.
This spirit of giving is part of the heart and soul of the Waugh Family. With their 3 sons and daughters-in-law, Lynne and Rick have established The Waugh Family Foundation, which funds a range of domestic and international projects for community-based charities, from education to healthcare. Through a partnership with the Rideau Hall Foundation and a number of Canadian universities, the Waugh Family Foundation also supports post-secondary scholarships.
In presenting the award, Mark Fulford quoted Rick as saying, "We are impressed with United Way's successful and proven business model, which we’ve been involved with for many years. It provides governance, monitoring and efficient funding of local communities at the grassroots level."
The Waughs believe that the successful United Way model could and would make significant improvements in people’s lives – not only in the Turks & Caicos, but in the six new Caribbean countries the Waughs are working to establish United Ways.
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2016 Tocqueville Society Award Winner
Sarah and John have been part of the United Way family for over 40 years and we are grateful for their ongoing support of United Ways around the world as donors, advocates and community champions.
Early in his career at Eli Lilly and Company, John joined a team tasked not only with managing the company’s significant growth, but also with running the United Way of Central Indiana community campaign. Championing the United Way mission among local leaders and corporate colleagues, his dedication to United Way helped raise over $33 million for community change and continued to grow during his tenure as an executive, then CEO, at Lilly.
Sarah helped launch the women’s giving affinity group at the United Way of Central Indiana, now known as Women United - the fastest growing giving segment. Sarah didn’t just lead, she recruited a corporate chair, collaborated to develop the strategy and helped plan what became the group’s signature event for over 7 years. Even after stepping off active-duty on the Steering Committee, she continued to send new members and advocate for United Way.
Sarah and John have graciously allowed us to leverage their names to grow giving. Working with the United Way of Central Indiana, they gave a gift recently that was used as a source of matching funds to encourage Tocqueville Society members to move up to the next giving level – the Meridian Society, which now boasts nearly 100 members. The Lechleiters also challenged local CEOs to increase their gifts by matching new gifts or increasing existing gifts. What began as a $1 million gift generated nearly $4 million in new dollars for United Way of Central Indiana.
Sarah and John’s impact has been felt around the world as well. Together, the Lechleiters have donated millions of dollars to the United Way network, spanning five continents. Just in the past two years as chairman of United Way Worldwide, John led engagements with corporate and community leaders in the U.S., Asia, Latin America and Europe. At home, Sarah and John’s most recent gift will allow United Way of Central Indiana to open two new Centers for Working Families, fund childcare scholarships, launch a Great Families 2020 strategy and continue to strengthen the work accomplished through agency partners in the greater Indianapolis region.
The Lechleiters believe United Way represents the best that his country has to offer, and represents our best hope for a brighter future.
We are proud to celebrate Sarah and John Lechleiter, steadfast partners, devoted leaders and inspiring role models, with the 2016 Alexis de Tocqueville Award.
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2015 Tocqueville Society Award Winner
Mr. Dominic Ng is the recipient of the 2015 United Way Tocqueville Award, the highest international honor for an individual volunteer.
Mr. Ng is the chairman and CEO of East West Bank and has been a member of the corporate board of United Way of Greater Los Angeles (UWGLA) for more than a decade. His vision and passion have positively influenced the diversity of services and philanthropic endeavors of UWGLA.As the first Asian-American chair of the United Way campaign, Mr. Ng steered UWGLA in raising a record $66 million in 2000-2001. He increased the number of Chinese-American donors and encouraged a different approach to building stronger communities by funding smaller, minority-serving agencies. In 2008, he helped create the “quality of life index”, a crucial tool for better assessing the challenges that Los Angeles residents face and developing lasting solutions to the challenges.
Under Mr. Ng’s leadership, East West Bank has also raised millions of dollars for the “Creating Pathways Out of Poverty” initiative, which helps individuals and families get on more solid financial ground. Through this initiative, half of the 3,000 adults who completed classes on financial education improved their financial habits within six months and over 44,000 individuals and families filed free tax returns under the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program
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2013 Tocqueville Society Award Winner
United Way Tocqueville Society is proud to recognize Michael K. Hayde with the 2013 National United Way Tocqueville Society Award®.
Mike Hayde grew up in an extremely economically challenged area. His early experiences there influenced his philosophy of philanthropy, volunteerism and the value of “second chances”, and inspired his passion for creating opportunities for all at home in Orange County and around the world.Mike’s involvement with United Way began in Orange County when the Tocqueville Society was in its formative stages and he was asked to join by a business competitor and philanthropist, Peter Ochs. Since then, Mike’s financial support has increased year over year and he is currently a member of the $10 Million Roundtable of the Tocqueville Society. His strategic and thoughtful giving includes support for United Way infrastructure and for valuable staff recognition and retention incentives. He also challenged Orange County United Way to “think differently” by inspiring the establishment of endowment that will provide a sustainable source of funding for the future.
His contributions are not only financial. As a volunteer leader he has invited many of his peers to join him as members of the Million Dollar Roundtable and Tocqueville Society. He led the effort to grow the endowment through the Tocqueville Legacy Circle, asking board members and Tocqueville members to endow their gifts.