Wells Fargo's Kellee Ford, Peter Dudley and Lillian Lopez with their 2008/09 Spirit of the Bay Award.

On Thursday, Wells Fargo Bank and BRE Properties Inc. were named winners of United Way’s 2008/09 Spirit of the Bay Award. The award recognizes companies that most outstandingly embodied a corporate culture of philanthropy and volunteerism during the 2008/09 United Way campaign.

This year marks the first time United Way awarded Spirit of the Bay to two companies. The United Way awards committee wanted to acknowledge both a large company (more than 500 employees), as well as honor a smaller firm (500 or fewer employees).

Wells Fargo was recognized for its strong participation in United Way’s Week of Caring, which jumped 69% as more than 2,700 employees supported 71 Bay Area nonprofits on 198 projects, totaling an estimated 8,100 hours of volunteer time. In addition 6,190 employees served on more than 10,180 nonprofit boards across the country.

Michael McCann and Connie Moore from BRE Properties accepted the 2008/09 Spirit of the Bay Award.

BRE Properties Inc. was recognized for its leadership in helping to launch and expand Real Estate 4 Tomorrow’s Adults, a United Way program that creates internships for Bay Area students, building their skills and cultivating the next generation of real estate professionals.  BRE was also honored for doubling the number of employee volunteers who participated in Week of Caring.

Additional winners representing a broad mix of corporate and civic partners were also given awards at four levels: Anchor, Gold, Silver and Bronze. 2008/09 Community Impact Award Winners.

Read the Full Press release here.

Update: We’ve added pictures of the event.