UnitedHealthcare, a leading national provider of healthcare benefits, has selected five small business finalists for its inaugural $10,000 “UnitedHealthcare Community Care Award” in Charleston, West Virginia. The finalists were chosen from dozens of applicants, all providing an idea for improving the health and wellness of the greater Charleston community.
A winning project will be announced following presentations by each of the finalists at a live event at the Charleston Area Alliance on August 15th from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The award, funded by UnitedHealthcare, is supported by our community partners—the Charleston Area Alliance, West Virginia Small Business Development Center, and West Virginia State Economic Development Center. The program is designed to help small businesses give back to their city and state through a new health and wellness initiative to meet health challenges in the community.
The Charleston small business project finalists include:
- A More Excellent Way Life Center Church
- Pollen8, Inc.
- Thankful Valley Farms and Hatchery, LLC
- United Way of Central West Virginia
- VoixRx
These businesses will pitch their ideas to a panel of business and healthcare expert judges, including Katherine Wiseman, national vice president of account management with UMR, a UnitedHealthcare company, and Dr. Kane Maiers, Area Medical Director for MedExpress.
“This year’s applicants impressed us with their creativity, proving that small businesses in Charleston have big ideas when it comes to helping the community,” said Chris Mullins, CEO, UnitedHealthcare of the Mid-Atlantic. “The five finalists earned their spots with innovative proposals to address some of West Virginia’s greatest health challenges, including addiction and obesity.”
UnitedHealthcare is committed to working with communities in West Virginia and across the country to make the health system work better for everyone.
The West Virginia contest is one part of the company’s broader effort to support innovation. Previously, UnitedHealthcare brought the Community Care Award program to other communities across the country, such as Richmond, Virginia, Syracuse, New York, and Kansas City.
