THUNDER BAY -- City of Thunder Bay employees continue to go above-and-beyond for the United Way.
On Thursday it was revealed municipal workers had combined to collect $213,141 through three employee campaigns, topping last year’s total by nearly $17,000.
It’s a staggering number, said United Way of Thunder Bay executive director Jered Zieroth of the amount, which represents about eight per cent of the organization’s $2.65-million goal in 2016.
“For them to be able to pull off that number is fantastic,” Zieroth said, shortly after the total was revealed.
“They did some really neat things this year. They kept it close to the heart, knowing where the money is coming from and how much money they’d raised. And we really needed it, to get us that boost in our campaign.”
United Way officials say at present they've collected about $1.79 million, 67.7 per cent of this year's target.
Zieroth said employee campaigns like the city’s – collected through municipal workers and staff at Superior North EMS and the Thunder Bay Public Library – are the backbone of the United Way’s annual campaign.
“Close to 50 per cent of the dollars that come in are from employee campaign donations. Many employee campaign donations are matched by their employer, so that gives it even more of boost. It’s the bread and butter of our campaign,” Zieroth said.
“Everybody doing a little adds up to a lot.”
Kerri Marshall, who co-chaired the municipal canvassing effort, said city workers know how important a role the United Way plays in the lives of Thunder Bay residents, with one in three accessing their services at some point in their lives.
“We truly care about our community,” Marshall said.
“We want to support our community and certainly everybody at the city is very generous and we’re very pleased with the outcome today.”
