Cathy Cleland Email and Phone Number

As a Development Officer at the Valley of the Sun United Way, I have the opportunity to work with a variety of different individuals at many different companies throughout the valley. My responsibilities include building relationships with campaign managers, helping to educate individuals on the work we are doing in the community, and to present this informations to groups as I am invited to participate in meetings. I work to raise funds in our community to improve the environment we live in each day. I get to help individuals see how their contribution to United Way, helps a single mom get a better job and get back on her feet, or take an individual off the street after 20 years and put them in a permanent residence, not only helping them but also saving us as a community up to $30,000 per individual. We can each make a difference; we just need to take action.

My responsibilities include performing research on individuals to understand the giving potential and interest areas. In addition data entry, pledge processing, and additional administrative responsibilities are included in this position. I also have the opportunity to perform presentations to communicate the message of our organization to potential donors.

As the owner of a wedding floral business, I was blessed to work with many different brides and their families to provide an amazing vision on their special day. My consultations with my brides included a discussion of their ideas, wishes and desires for their wedding day. I then had the opportunity to take this information and design bouquets, centerpieces, ceremony pieces and a variety of different solutions for that one amazing day. My attention to detail and project management skills ensured a picture perfect environment for my brides. I am thankful to each and every bride I had the opportunity to work with because I learned something new and different from them and they invited me in to be a part of their experience.

My responsibilities included pricing, inventory management, planogram layouts, negotiations, and other buying skills in addition to many quality control aspects. As a companion pet buyer, I was responsible for the lives of the animals not only in our stores but also the overall care of the pets prior to entering our locations. I learned a lot about the biological needs of each type of pet and how the environment around them impacted their overall health and experience.