From tutus to timepieces
Volunteers find innovative ways to raise cash Campaign aids about 1 million Torontonians UNITED WAY
Sometimes, you have to rise a lot of dough to raise a lot of dough.
In fact this year, it took about 45,350 kilograms of dough, 10,900 kilograms of mozzarella cheese and 2,700 kilograms of pepperoni to raise about $ 250,000 and bring the United Way of Greater Toronto that much closer to its campaign goal of $ 94.5 million.
For nine weeks TTC workers sold pizza slices in the subway, one of dozens of creative ways volunteers across the city raise money for the United Way. The ‘ za campaign was a joint effort of the TTC, Amalgamated Transit Union members and Pizza Pizza. In the past three years, they’ve raised more than $ 750,000 for the United Way. But they couldn’t have done it without subway riders, who gladly paid a buck a slice for tens of thousands of pieces baked by Pizza Pizza chefs and dished out by volunteer TTC workers at 32 subway stations.
“ The United Way is a tremendous organization to support because the money goes where it’s needed most,” said Rick Ducharme, TTC chief general manager. “ Our customers love ( the pizza sale) and so do staff.”
This year, about 30 Pizza Pizza franchise owners across the city participated, delivering fresh, hot pizza to subway stations on Wednesdays every half hour from 10: 30 a. m. to 8 p. m. The pizzas were sold to the TTC below cost and Pizza Pizza trained volunteers in food handling.
“ We do it because we want to give back to the community,” said Pat Finelli, vice- president of marketing at Pizza Pizza.
They also raised more than dough at Canada Bread Company, Ltd. — plenty of eyebrows and laughs were raised at corporate headquarters when male executives donned frilly frocks to serve tea to employees.
It was a lark and all for a good cause, said Rory Lesperance, vice- president and general manager for Ontario and chair of the company’s United Way campaign. He and colleague Jim Newman, vice- president of field sales, dressed in frothy tulle tutus and pushed a cart with tea and biscuits for sale. It was one in a long list of shenanigans planned by Lesperance to encourage staff to sign up for payroll deductions to benefit the United Way. Almost 90 per cent of head office employees participated, “ and they gave from the heart” raising $ 180,000, up from $ 112,000 last year.
“ I like what the United Way does in terms of charitable work,” said Heidi Umstadt, who raised $700 by shaving her head. A legal assistant in the Toronto intellectual property group at law firm Gowling Lafleur Henderson, she used to work for the Canadian National Institute for the Blind, a United Way agency, and saw first- hand how donor dollars are used to help. As for her hair, “It’ll grow back,” she said with a laugh.
Scotiabank employees combined brawns and brains to raise money and urge colleagues to contribute to the United Way. Teams of challengers took to the streets selling chocolates, writing and performing songs, and even coaxing strangers at the Bay St. bus terminal to squeeze on to a scale to reach a target of 2,000 pounds of people. The 72 Scotiabank employees from the retail lending services division raised $ 4,500 in a few hours. “Every year, Scotiabank employees from across the city raise funds to support the United Way of Greater Toronto, raising over $ 5.2 million last year,” said a spokesperson.
Toronto’s men and women in blue may not be as wacky, but they came up with a timely way to raise money. This year, the Toronto Police Service sold limited edition watches with proceeds donated to the 2005 campaign. In 2004, Toronto Police donated more than $ 500,000. Money raised by the United Way campaign supports its 200 member agencies, which help one in three Torontonians — about 1 million people — including seniors, youth, abused women, immigrants and the hungry. How to donate: Go to www.unitedwaytoronto. call 416- 777- 2001.