Kottwitz wins car in UW give-away

An Aurora woman who has supported the Heartland United Way for the past 25 years and believes in its mission was a winner herself Thursday when her number was drawn in a 25 Keys of Christmas car give-away.
Jill Kottwitz, a drafting manager at BonnaVilla Homes, drove home in a brand new GMC Terrain, excited but still somewhat in disbelief that her number was called.
“It was unexpected because you always think you’re not going to win,” Kottwitz said, describing the dramatic key countdown ceremony at the Tom Dinsdale Chevrolet Cadillac GMC dealership in Grand Island. “Typically, you don’t have good luck, but in this case we did.”
Kottwitz, who lives in Aurora with her husband Dean and two teenage children, said she’s long been a supporter of the United Way, though this is the first time she had a chance to win the annual campaign’s grand prize.
“Chief Industries (BonnaVilla Homes’ parent company based in Grand Island) has been a great supporter of it so when I started working here 25 years ago they always had a promotion at work,” she explained. “It’s always been payroll deduction here so it’s fast, it’s easy, and it was just a great way to give back to the community. I tried to be involved every year with it, making that contribution.”
Kottwitz was one of 25 names drawn from a pool of donors who had each pledged a minimum of $260 to the United Way, which serves Hall, Hamilton, Howard and Merrick counties. 
“I want say thanks to the Heartland United Way, and also thanks to Tom and Kim Dinsdale,” she added. “You know you can’t do it without the donation of the car.”
(For more detail on Kottwitz’ reaction and the family plans for the new vehicle, see related column on Page C2.)
Karen Rathke, the organization’s president and chief professional officer, said the car give-away is in fact a huge incentive, as it encourages people to give a certain amount, which in the end benefits many area people in need.
“We’re grateful to Tom and Kim Dinsdale for their 20 years of generosity,” Rathke said, honoring the owners of the Grand Island dealership. “They have done so much for so many communities and organizations, events, causes and people. While we were giving the car away to that one lucky winner, the true winners are the people that donations impact every day. We are extremely grateful for their generosity and for everybody who donated to the Heartland United Way campaign. I think the added excitement of possibly winning a car boosts giving from what they might have donated to an amount to get that chance.”
Thus far, the 2022 campaign has brought in $1,322,207, which is 91 percent of the  $1.5 million goal, Rathke reported. Go Big Give, hosted each spring in partnership with area foundations, collected a record total of $1,476,970 this year, so the total raised in the four-county area stands at $2,799,177.
“We are honored that we have our 75 year anniversary campaign team helping us celebrate 75 years and also raise dollars to support our mission,” Rathke said, noting that instead of having one campaign chair, this year’s event is being lead by a team of former chairpersons. “We have a long road to go. We’re at 91 percent. It could be kind of a challenge to get there, but we have a lot of people supporting us and championing the Heartland United Way and kind of telling our mission.
“That mission,” she continued, “is to simply improve lives and create possibilities in our four-county area. This is also an opportunity for all of these campaign chairs to spread that mission, which is funding 17 United Way organizations.”
In addition, Rathke noted that the United Way provides direct assistance through the Imagination Library, monthly food distribution, the Husker Harvest Days toy drive and by helping coordinate Go Big Give, which makes it possible for 152 area organizations to raise money for themselves.
“That one gift to the United Way just has such a ripple effect,” she said. “Having so many campaign chairs this year to help tell that story is helpful. They’ve been a key part of the United Way for a long time and are strong supporters of our mission and our work.”
Thursday’s car give-away was a highlight of the campaign, though donations will be accepted through the end of the year, Rathke said. Twenty-four names were drawn in advance, with a 25th drawn that evening. Each of those donors picked an ice scraper, to which a number was affixed. Even if they didn’t win, they got to keep the scraper.
Tom Dinsdale picked the winning number, which was revealed when the countdown had reached three finalists, including Kottwitz, Lidia Cabrera, who works at Pump & Pantry, and Russ Anderson of CNH Industrial.
For more information about the United Way campaign, or to make a donation, go to heartlandunitedway.org.