Warwick residents, Linda Loveday and Dennis Leamy, were recognized for their dedication to charity at the 89th Annual United Way of Rhode Island (UWRI) Community Awards.

The event, which was hosted October 7 at the Pawtucket Armory Arts Center, saw more than 450 guests honor individuals for their work within the community.

This year a new award was added to the community celebrations the, Spark! Award. This award is given to a member of the Young Leaders Circle (YLC), a network of “service minded young leaders.” The inaugural winner was Dennis Leamy of Warwick, who is a founding member of the YLC. His efforts helped to expand the organization to 1,200 members.

Currently, Leamy is the assistant manager of Quality and Training for Amica Insurance Company and serves on the Board of Directors at Amos House and San Miguel School in Providence.

“I help because it’s the least I can do. People all across our state are chipping in, and when it’s all said and done I want to know that I did my part to help my neighbors and community, and to move Rhode Island in the right direction,” Leamy said.

Also receiving awards were Teknor Apex with the 2015 Corporate Partnership Award and Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea, who received the John H. Chafee Lifetime Service Award.

Linda Loveday, also of Warwick, has served on the Local 2448 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees for the past 15 years and now serves as president. She is state vice president of Council 94 and also sits in the executive board of the AFL-CIO. For her continued service for union members and volunteering to help the homeless of the state, Loveday received the Dante F. Mollo award, which “recognizes the strong partnership between the Labor Community and UWRI.”

Loveday said, “Doing this work together, we’re sending a message to homeless people that they matter and that we’re here to help. Helping others is something I do because my parents instilled a love of philanthropy at an early age.”

UWRI also brought guests’ attention to the prolonged issue of housing affordability and homelessness in Rhode Island, encouraging them to continue their efforts to combat the concerns.

“There are more than 4,000 homeless people in Rhode Island, and the availability of affordable housing is a serious issue,” said Anthony Maione, president and CEO of UWRI. “While we focus on many different issues at United Way, so many of the challenges people face connect to whether they have a stable and affordable place to sleep at the end of the day.”

At the end of the night UWRI launched “Text-to-Give”, a campaign supporting the Family Housing Fund to help provide emergency assistance to families. In only an hour the campaign over $3,000 was donated by texting iHELPRI with a donation total to 41444.

For more information on the awards or ways to donate visit www.LIVEUNITEDri.org.