Recently, Vermont Mutual Insurance Group® donated a record $16,000 to the Committee On Temporary Shelter (COTS) as part of the Cats Win, Community Wins program, a multi-year, community-based, collaboration between Vermont Mutual Insurance Group and the University of Vermont. Since the program’s debut in 2017, Vermont Mutual has donated $80,000 to local non-profits through the Cats Win, Community Wins initiative and has awarded more than $3.5 million dollars through the Vermont Mutual Charitable Giving Fund since its inception in 2014.
The Cats Win, Community Wins initiative was created by Vermont Mutual and UVM Athletics as a way to give back to local charitable organizations. As part of the yearly program, for every win by a Catamount athletic team, Vermont Mutual will donate $100 to a designated charity. The Committee On Temporary Shelter (COTS) was selected to be the 2022 Cats Win, Community Wins recipient. This past year UVM athletics achieved 160 wins across all sports, which equates to a $16,000 donation to COTS from Vermont Mutual, a Cats Win, Community Wins record.
The check presentation was made at the January 5th UVM Men’s Basketball game held at the Patrick Gymnasium. On hand to present the check to COTS Executive Director, Jonathan Farrell, were Vermont Mutual President & CEO, Dan Bridge, and Executive Vice President & COO, Mark McDonnell. CEO Dan Bridge, remarked “Vermont Mutual is proud to support local community organizations such as the Committee On Temporary Shelter and thank them for their commitment to our communities and for those without shelter.” Bridge added “And we congratulate the student athletes at UVM for their record contribution to this worthy organization.”
COTS Executive Director, Jonathan Farrell, remarked “COTS is delighted to be the recipient of this year’s Cats Win, Community Wins program and grateful to UVM Athletics and Vermont Mutual for making this possible. A majority of our funding comes directly from community efforts such as this, and this gift will go a long way in supporting our clients who are experiencing homelessness this winter.”
Also announced at the January 5th game was the 2023 Cats Win, Community Wins beneficiary, the King Street Center, a child focused, non-profit community organization based in Burlington, Vermont.