The 2026-2027 Workplace Campaign is officially underway, and we’re kicking things off by introducing the two groups that make it happen: the volunteers leading our campaign and the workplaces that show up for this community year after year.
Meet Your Campaign Chair
Jessica Leonard’s United Way story started with Day of Caring in 2011. After moving to Berkeley County, it was an event she looked forward to joining again. In 2019, she was asked to join the board, and she dove into the Campaign Committee and the Little Black Dress Event.
Now she’s leading the Campaign Committee as this year’s chair. In her words:
“The workplace campaign supports the ongoing initiative of giving back to the community. Each workplace campaign helps the United Way provide resources to multiple organizations that support members of the Eastern Panhandle in different ways.”
How the Workplace Campaign Works
Every workplace does it a little differently, but the idea is the same: employees come together to give back to their own community. Support comes in a few forms:
- Payroll deductions
- Event sponsorships
- Auction item donations
- Creative fundraisers like bake sales, raffles, and tournaments
Those dollars are invested in nonprofit partners across Berkeley, Jefferson, and Morgan counties, in line with our four impact areas: Youth Opportunity, Financial Security, Healthy Community, and Community Resiliency.
What’s Coming Next
Over the coming weeks, we’ll be introducing you to the workplaces and community partners behind this campaign, and sharing what their support means for neighbors across the Eastern Panhandle.
Workplace Spotlight: P&G Tabler Station
Who better to start with than our Gold Award winner? P&G Tabler Station has been our top workplace account for nine years in a row. Last year, the team raised $421,383, an increase of more than $19,000 over the year before.
We sat down with John Collins, site facilities manager, and Gloria Keyser, site regulatory compliance leader and P&G’s United Way campaign leader, to talk about how it all happens.
A partnership more than a century in the making
P&G’s relationship with United Way goes back to 1913, when the company partnered with Community Chest, a predecessor of United Way, in Cincinnati. That commitment has continued at P&G facilities ever since. Tabler Station and United Way of the Eastern Panhandle have been connected since 2017.
Why United Way? As the team put it, United Way has historically kept overhead low, gets money to the people who need it most, and helps the communities where P&G employees live and work.
Fundraising that brings the whole site out
The bulk of P&G’s giving comes from employee payroll donations, but the campaign is far from just paperwork. Throughout the year, employees and site leadership pitch in with:
- A golf tournament
- Bake sales
- A dunk tank
- A parking spot raffle
Every gift matters, because each one raises awareness and supports United Way programs across the community. And as the team shared, people keep giving:
“People continue to contribute year on year. I think it just becomes a culture. It becomes a habit.”
Time as well as dollars
P&G offers every employee a paid civic day to volunteer in the community, and United Way provides one avenue for using it: Day of Caring. P&G Tabler Station employees volunteer at multiple project sites, and many serve on local nonprofit boards. One Day of Caring memory stands out:
“We were cleaning outside, working on the jungle gym area, and painting in the building. It was so fun because we got to see when the kids came back in and saw all the equipment that was outside. They were so excited. It was a really great day.”
The team behind the total
Gloria is quick to share the credit:
“I might be listed as the leader, but I have a phenomenal team, and they work so hard every single year to make this campaign successful.”
That team sets a goal each year, and for the last couple of years, they’ve exceeded it. Their plan for the year ahead is simple: keep raising the bar.
“We’re just going to keep breaking records. United Way does it better than anyone.”
Thank you to everyone at P&G Tabler Station for being a true partner to this community.
Bring the Campaign to Your Workplace
Whether your team is 10 people or 1,500, a workplace campaign is one of the easiest ways to make a lasting impact close to home. Want to learn how to start one? Fill out our interest form to get started!
United is the Way!