THUNDER BAY -- The United Way of Thunder Bay’s annual fundraising drive is hoping to take a direct flight to $15,000 on Saturday.
The event drew in 13 teams to pull a 26,327 pound Goldcorp Dash 8-300 a distance of 50 feet in support of the Northwestern Ontario Aboriginal Youth Achievement and Recognition Awards and the United Way.
United Way Campaign co-chair Mike Nitz said one in every three people in Thunder Bay benefit from the United Way program.
“That’s a pretty powerful reach we have,” Nitz said.
“It’s anywhere from CNIB who help children who can’t see interact with their environment, all the way to Hospice Northwest, we help people all along their lifelines and in all different situations.”
Nitz added that United Way has funded 60 programs across the city this year.
“The energy here is phenomenal,” Nitz said. “It’s Saturday morning, who thought we would get such a good group of enthusiastic people wanting to raise money and have fun for the United way.
Each team had three turns to pull the plane, and the top three teams of the day will take part in a pull-off, which will declare who receives the fastest team of the day award.
The plane pull champion team will receive a celebratory dinner at Daytona’s Kitchen and Creative Catering for the team and a guest.
The top fundraising team, best dressed team and most spirited team will also receive awards as well.
The United Way Plane Pull also raised funds for the Northwestern Ontario Aboriginal Youth Achievement and Recognition Awards.
These awards were designed to acknowledge the accomplishments of Aboriginal youth in Northwestern Ontario.
