When Mary Lewis received her hard-earned bachelor’s degree from Western Michigan University last Saturday, she thought that would be the highlight of her month.

Turns out she has two great things to celebrate.

Lewis, Practice Director at Family Health Center (FHC), is this year’s United Way Sweepstakes automobile winner. She was chosen at random from thousands of qualified donors in this year’s United Way campaign to win a new vehicle up to a value of $25,000. This is the seventh year of the vehicle giveaway through the sweepstakes sponsored by United Way of the Battle Creek and Kalamazoo Region (UWBCKR).

“Totally don’t believe it. I graduated on Saturday and won a car on Tuesday,” said a stunned Lewis as dozens of coworkers at FHC’s Alcott campus cheered.

Denise Crawford, President and CEO of Family Health Center, arranged to surprise Lewis by leading her and other employees to the Alcott parking lot where officials from UWBCKR, standing alongside a demo car from DeNooyer Chevrolet, revealed the news.

According to UWBCKR President and CEO Chris Sargent, more than 5,000 contributors qualified for this year’s Sweepstakes drawing. Donors were automatically entered if they gave an undesignated gift of at least $50. During this year’s regional campaign, UWBCKR and participating dealers displayed automobiles at workplace locations across the region.

“The Sweepstakes continues to be a fun incentive that generates crucial support for United Way that in turn drives programs that are transforming lives,” said Sargent. “We congratulate Mary and thank her and all donors for helping change the story in our region.”

The 2018 Sweepstakes was generously supported by the following sponsors: Kellogg Community Credit Union, Cole Automotive Group, DeNooyer Chevrolet, Orrin B. Hayes, Inc., Metro Toyota, Seelye Auto Group, Henkel Automotive Group, Heritage Chevrolet, and Sunshine Toyota.

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