City employees raise $72,500 for United Way campaign
Ugly sweater days, bake sales, silent auctions boost efforts to help the marginalized
United Way of Peterborough and District received a jolt to its fundraising campaign after $72,500 was raised by city employees.
On Thursday, Mayor Diane Therrien and social services director Ellen Armstrong presented the cheque to the United Way.
The annual campaign has a $1,850,000 goal this year.
The city’s tally is down from $79,605 netted a year ago.
The cheque is an annual donation from the city’s campaign and was funded through barbecues, bake sales, silent auctions and even ugly-sweater days, Armstrong said.
Every day she sees the effects the United Way’s fundraising has on helping the poor or marginalized in the community.
“We see on the ground what a little bit of money every day can do to someone who is homeless,” Armstrong said.
Megan Murphy, this year’s campaign chairwoman for the United Way, said the funds go to different streams which help fund partner agencies in the community, help deal with the struggles of homelessness and even support micro-grants for improving neighbourhoods.
“It’s just really interesting things that build community on a grassroots level,” Murphy said.
While Murphy said she was aware of what the United Way did before coming on board she’s seen a fuller extent of the work they do for the community.
“I am understanding more and more the needs of the community and where the United Way is filling those holes,” Murphy said.
She thanked the community for its generosity and noted there was still more to go, asking people to continue to support the organization.
Throughout the campaign the former radio show host and documentary-maker contributed her own ideas to support community engagement.
One of those ideas was the placement of chalkboards across the city where people could leave messages or notes to others.
At one point Murphy was going to clean one off when she noted someone had wrote “I’m grateful for my new sobriety” on the board.
Talking to the person, Murphy said they were able to get better thanks to the help of the United Way’s partner organizations which it helps support.
“So this is the work you’re supporting in the community,” Murphy said.
Therrien said there are a number of initiatives in Peterborough that wouldn’t happen without the United Way’s support and says the city will continue to help the organization with its work.
“(We are) raising money for a good cause and having fun doing it,” Therrien said.