City employees came through and then some for the United Way of Thunder Bay.
With three weeks remaining in the 2013 campaign, the charity on Thursday received a combined total of $219,562 from municipal staff, leaving them slightly more than $1 million off their $2.7-million target.
Carol Pollard, the municipal division campaign chair for the City of Thunder Bay’s United Way effort, said the collection was about $20,000 above their stated $199,600 goal.
“I’m so happy the employees have pulled together because the need is ever increasing in our community,” Pollard said.
“It’s so important because one in three families in our community access the services of the agencies funded by the United Way. That’s our friends, our colleagues, our neighbours. And it helps with various items such as putting food on the table, providing clothing, access to counselling, so many needy and worthy programs.”
Pollard said the city campaign always seems to capture the imagination of municipal employees, who give generously from their hearts.
“I think that people can put a face on the need. Generally in our workplace most of us know people or friends or family who have accesses the services. The dollars are local, we can see the benefit locally, it’s part of making our community a great place.”
Municipal employees contributed $155,047 to the effort, which also included $40,623 from Superior North EMS, $21, 522 from the Thunder Bay District Social Services Administration Board and $2,369 from the Thunder Bay Public Library.
Walter Flasza, chairman of the 2013 United Way of Thunder Bay fundraising campaign, said the money is great news given how much is left to collect this year.
“We’ve got about a million and change left to go with about three weeks left in the campaign, so this is a real big boost to our efforts and it’s really big news to the organizations that really on United Way funding to deliver the programs that benefit one-in-three families here in Thunder Bay,” Flasza said.
That they surpasses the goal made the cheque presentation that much better, he added.
“It’s really great because we haven’t been experiencing that across the board, so it’s a testament to the people who have contributed to this campaign. We’re really thankful for their efforts.”
Over the past 18 years the municipal division employee campaign has contributed nearly $2.1 million to the United Way.
Fundraisers this year included dress-down days, cash donations and payroll deductions, a kick-off luncheon, a spaghetti dinner and auction and the Mayor’s Mulligan golf tournament in September.
