BURLINGTON, Vt. – The new community-driven aspect of Vermont Mutual's extended relationship with the Catamounts is centered around the "Cats Win, Community Wins" initiative to benefit the Boys & Girls Club of Burlington.

The culmination of the inaugural initiative earned the local Boys & Girls Club $11,000 from Vermont Mutual Insurance Group. As part of its multi-year relationship with the university and its athletics multimedia rightsholder, Learfield's Vermont Sports Properties, Vermont Mutual designates $100 for each Catamount win for all sports during the calendar year. During the 2017 year, UVM accounted for 110 wins in 13 men's and women's competitive sports, both home and away victories. For 2018, already 59 UVM wins have been recorded.

Dan Bridge, President & CEO and Mark McDonnell, Executive Vice President & COO with Vermont Mutual were on hand at the Boys & Girls Club of Burlington this week to present the $11,000 check to Tanya Benosky, Executive Director with the Boys & Girls Club of Burlington, along with Rally from UVM, and many excited members of the Club.

"We couldn't be more pleased to donate $11,000 to the Boys & Girls Club of Burlington" said Bridge. "We take immense pride in giving back to our community and look forward to deepening our relationship with the university, as well as continuing our affiliation with our local Boys & Girls Club."

"Our organization is beyond honored, and thrilled, to be an integral part of the 'Cats Win, Community Wins' initiative. We can't thank Vermont Mutual enough for thinking of us and wrapping this into their broader partnership with the Vermont Catamounts!" said Michael Schirling, Chair of the Boys & Girls Club Board of Directors.

According to UVM's Director of Athletics Jeff Schulman, "The support and generosity shown by our partners at Vermont Mutual Insurance Group is greatly appreciated. We had an extremely successful launch to the 'Cats Win, Community Wins' initiative and we are looking forward to winning more games, and in turn, raising even more money to benefit our friends at the Boys & Girls Club of Burlington. The Boys & Girls Club of Burlington does great work in our community and we're thrilled to partner with Vermont Mutual Insurance in support of their efforts."
 
Learfield has long been immersed in the collegiate athletics landscape. In addition to Vermont, the company manages the multimedia and sponsorship rights for nearly 130 collegiate institutions, conferences and arenas, in addition to supporting athletic departments at all competitive levels as title sponsor of the prestigious Learfield Directors' Cup.