Article Contributed by
United Way of Southern Chautauqua County
United Way of Southern Chautauqua County is thrilled to announce their 2021 Campaign Co-Chairs: Mark and Christine Tarbrake. The theme for this year’s campaign is “Help Today Gives Hope Tomorrow.”
“The Tarbrakes have been long time supporters of United Way and engaged community members for their entire careers,” said United Way Executive Director Amy Rohler, “I’m thrilled for their leadership in our fundraising efforts.”
Christine has been employed with M&T Bank for 40 years and is currently a Regional Sales Manager for the Southern Tier Region. She is currently Vice President of the Board of Directors for United Way of Southern Chautauqua County. She has served on the board since 2011-2018, and over the years, has served as chairs of several board committees, including Allocations, Personnel and Community Impact.
Mark has been employed with SKF Industries for 42 years and currently serves on the Chautauqua County Health Board, the Town of Ellery Zoning Board of Appeals, and the Chautauqua Lake Rehabilitation Task Force. He has previously served on the St. Susan’s Center Board of Directors, the Busti Town Board for 20 years and on the Chautauqua County Legislature for 8 years including several committees Economic Development, Administrative Services and Health and Human Services.
“I remember the very first time I served on an allocations committee in 1984,” said Christine, “I was so impressed with the process United Way used to make sure their donor dollars were invested wisely.” United Way uses more than 60 volunteers in the community, from all walks of life, to make their funding decisions for local community programs. Since that first committee, Christine has spent every year helping with the allocations process and has visited nearly every non profit funded by United Way in that time. “Our community partners do such impressive work and I love doing site visits,” added Christine, “and I always enjoy meeting their dedicated staff.”
“I’m honored to be asked to serve my community in this way, especially on behalf of United Way” said Mark, “it’s an organization that has an incredible impact in the lives of so many people. I’ve always been proud that my company, SKF, has been a strong supporter of United Way.”
Both SKF Industries and M&T Bank have a long history of corporate and local support of United Way, running workplace campaigns and providing significant corporate donations to the local United Way.
The Tarbrakes have been married for 27 years, are members of the Bemus Point United Methodist Church and live in Bemus Point with their three daughters, Morgan 20, Kelsey 19 and Hannah 17.
United Way of Southern Chautauqua County officially kicks off the 2021 on September 9. The community is invited to attend the event at United Way offices (208 Pine Street) at 4:30pm. The goal for this year’s campaign is $1.3 million dollars. The effort will seek to raise more than $1.3 million to invest in 43 local programs that align with four priorities: ensuring that families are self-sufficient, everyone is ready to work, young people succeed in school, and those in need can find help. One hundred percent of all donations remain in Chautauqua County.
