New United Way sets $7-million goal
WATERLOO REGION — The newly amalgamated local United Way has set an ambitious fundraising goal of $7 million.
United Way Waterloo Region Communities launched its 2017 campaign on Friday, its first integrated, regionwide campaign.
This year’s theme: Change the power of poverty.
“It’s really all about poverty,” said chief executive officer Joan Fisk. “It’s what poverty does. It holds you down.”
United Way Waterloo Region Communities came out of a merger of the region’s two United Way branches: United Way Cambridge and North Dumfries, and United Way Kitchener Waterloo & Area. It officially launched on April 1.
Fisk said it’s a new organization with “renewed vigour” and focus on raising awareness on United Way’s work in the community.
“It really needs a revitalization of the brand, so people understand what the United Way does,” Fisk said. “We are on a path and it’s just beginning.”
She aims to engage people in the community, whether it’s by donating money or time.
“This is all about community connections. We can’t do this alone,” Fisk said.
While the local branches have struggled in recent years to reach campaign goals, Fisk said she’s determined to make this one successful. And the goal will keep rising, to $10 million in 2019.
Fisk called poverty a “nagging issue in a pretty wealthy community,” although often it’s a hidden problem. She’s hopeful small changes, helped by even small donations, will make a dent in poverty in the region.
“It’s just a hand up. That’s what the United Way does,” Fisk said.
“By working together, we can really make this region something special,” spokesperson Brian Bourke told the crowd gathered at Waterloo Regional Police headquarters.
That was the final stop on the Race Around the Region, which had teams from local agencies and companies stopping at various locations in the cities and townships to complete challenges.