WENDY BENNETT

Wendy Bennett has been a Senior Financial Advisor for the past twenty years and has served as President of Bennett Associates Wealth Management for the past eight years. Over the last decade, she has sat on the board of the Ellen O’Brien Gaiser Addiction Center located in Butler, PA, serving on the executive committee as treasurer and financial chairperson. Most recently, she has expanded her philanthropic commitment by becoming a member of the Women Leadership Council (WLC) through United Way for the past five years.

She was introduced to United Way through a 2018 kickoff event in the North Hills of Pittsburgh and started attending monthly meetings. “When the pandemic hit, I wasn’t able to be as engaged, but then I ran into Sherrie Dunlap Gallagher, who is very active in the Butler United Way office,” said Wendy. “We started going to events together, and now I feel more committed and active than ever. It’s a lot of fun and a great way to connect and meet women with similar interests and who have a passion for helping the community. It’s been such a breath of fresh air coming out of Covid.”

Wendy believes there’s such a need but also such a personal reward that comes along with serving the community, and United Way makes it easy for her to get involved. “United Way sponsors local farmers markets throughout the area, they have backpack drives for school children, they support local shelters and so much more,” said Wendy. “There are endless opportunities for people to volunteer – whether you want to help children, seniors or local community members who have fallen on hard times – there’s an opportunity for everyone.” Wendy has been known to invite her coworkers to serve the community through United Way collection drives. “My coworkers are always willing to participate in collection drives, and it serves as a great team builder. I feel fortunate to be able to work with people who also feel like it’s important to give back to those in need.”

United Way researches the community to find out what the needs are, and how they can help make the community a better place. “People may not realize there’s a lot of work and research behind United Way and the way they allocate these funds. The organization realizes that the people who live here know what they need best, and the organization listens.”

To learn more about United Way’s Women’s Leadership Council, contact Lynne Popash at lynne.popash@unitedwayswpa.org in Allegheny County or Terri Dominick at Terri.Dominick@unitedwayswpa.org in Westmoreland County, or Sherrie Dunlap Gallagher at sherrie.dunlapgallagher@unitedwayswpa.org in Butler County.