The United Way of the Bradford Area Inc. will honor Christy Graham with the 2019 Red Feather Volunteer Award and Jessica Jarrett McKeirnan from BRMC’s Meals on Wheels program with the 2019 Excellence in Representation Award at the 2021 event, officials announced on Wednesday.

The Red Feather event, which celebrates community members through volunteerism awards, and the release of the Annual Report to the Community, has been postponed for the 2020 year due the COVID-19 pandemic. The event will resume in 2021 with both the 2020 and 2021 awardees to be recognized for their support and efforts in advocating for the local communities as well as the United Way’s mission.

The Red Feather award is implemented to honor an outstanding individual and/or business who has made an impact on the United Way, and the local community as a whole, through their day-to-day selfless attitude and commitment to exemplify the organization’s mission of enhancing the quality of life in the communities we serve.

Christy Graham, award winner and Bradford native, has been employed at Northwest Savings Bank for over eight years and served as the 2019-2020 “Invest in Your Community” campaign chair.

“The United Way is very important to me because so many lives are touched through the work of the United Way. We are very fortunate to have many great organizations here in Bradford and the United Way fills many gaps in funding for so many agencies and organizations that would struggle to keep programs running without the funds received from the UW,” Graham said about the United Way.

Jessica Jarrett McKeirnan, program coordinator for BRMC’s Meals on Wheels program since 2012, will receive the Excellence in Representation award which is given to a funded agency who instills the United Way’s mission within their own organization.

McKeirnan said, “The Meals on Wheels program allows the elderly and infirmed to remain at home. As a result, the families of the participants have a peace of mind. The participants receive a well-balanced meal and are checked on regularly. The program currently has over seventy participants and with funding from the United Way and the Philo & Sarah Blaisdell Foundation, we were able to serve 19,333 meals in 2019. Our program participants, staff and volunteers are very appreciative of this support and it would have a devastating impact on our community members in need without it.”

On behalf of the Bradford United Way, Executive Director Sarah Lonzi said, “We would like to congratulate both of our award winners and thank our communities for their generous support of the United Way of the Bradford Area Inc.”

Along with the award winners, the Annual Report to the Community will be made available virtually on our newly redesigned website, which recently launched at uwbanews.org.