Municipal employees give $243K to United Way campaign

Michael Nitz had to hold back tears Thursday after City of Thunder Bay employees surpassed their United Way contribution goal by more than 19 per cent.

Nitz, the 2014 campaign chairman, said he was stunned when he saw the final figure, $243,513, which is 9.3 per cent of their overall goal.

The municipal division’s original target was $204,386.

“It’s very rare I get emotional about things, but really what the employees of the municipal division did today is truly phenomenal. This represents slightly less than 10 per cent of our total campaign and they raised $23,952 more than they did last year,” Nitz said.

“They really worked hard this year. They had numerous events that they did, lots of events that they did back at the office. They all stepped up and gave from their own pockets and it’s just inspiring to see.”

Municipal workers contributed $175,383 of the total, with Superior North EMS adding $41,042 to the pot.

Staff at the Thunder Bay District Social Services Administration Board collected $24,231 while Thunder Bay Public Library workers gave $2,856.

Carol Pollard, the city’s general manager of corporate service and long-term care and a longtime United Way campaign committee member, said it was wonderful to see city employees step up and contribute such a large total toward the charity’s $2.6 million goal.
“It’s absolutely phenomenal,” Pollard said.

“I guess the employees of the City of Thunder Bay … just keep on giving. They give back to the community. Everybody digs deep when it comes time for the employee canvass. And they participate in all the special events that we have to raise money for worthy causes.”

Pollard said deep down city staff care about their community and the people who reside in it.

“They want to help those one-in-three families in our community who may need assistance from one of the 29 agencies that is funded by the United Way,” said Pollard, the 2012 campaign chairwoman.

Events hosted by the city included the recent Jeans and Jewels party, which raised more than $22,000 toward the cause, and the annual Mayor’s Mulligan golf tournament.

In 19 years the municipal division employee campaign has collected $2.3 million to the United Way, through payroll deductions, dress-down days and a variety of other special events.

More than 50 per cent of all city employees contributed to the United Way this year.

“As a citizen of Thunder Bay, I’m just so proud of the work that you’ve done,” Nitz told city staff at Wednesday’s unveiling.
“It makes me proud to live in Thunder Bay.”

With just three weeks left in the 2014 campaign, Nitz said he’s not sure how much they’ve collected this year, although last week the United Way officials announced they had hit the $1.4-million mark.