Setting the goal

Shelley Trewin doesn’t want to imagine Thunder Bay without the United Way.

She’s hoping the people who live in the city feel the same way, and is asking them to come up with $2.525 million between now and the end of the year, their most ambitious annual campaign goal yet set.

“It’s always tough every year. Last year was a tough goal to meet and we barely made it over the edge. We are going for a higher goal this year. The community has always been behind us though, so we’re reaching out to them as we always have,” said Trewin, the campaign co-chair, on Thursday, after unveiling the goal at their annual campaign launch breakfast.

The United Way of Thunder Bay services 28 organizations and 66 different programs. Trewin said they all need financial assistance, and without the generous donations from the community, many of the organizations would probably cease to exist.

“This United Way has been a cornerstone of Thunder Bay and the community for many years. It has reached out and brought people together and been able to provide services to people who otherwise haven’t been able to have access to those services or products,” Trewin said.

Her co-chair, Jules Tupker, has done this before and said the need has never been greater.

Tagged with the theme, change starts here, Tupker said he hopes people see the slogan and really start to think.

It worked in his case.

“My vision for change is that we change the life of everybody that’s struggling in the City of Thunder Bay,” he said.

As someone who served as solo campaign chairman in the past, Tupker said this year’s goal is ambitious, but doable.

“I’m very confident that we can hit it. The people of Thunder Bay are very generous and I think we’re going to be able to make that goal. It’s a goal that we set that we think is achievable, but it doesn’t come close to the requirements of the agencies that we fund.”

Tupker said he hopes donors give early, to avoid the fundraising scramble as the campaign winds down in December.

“We do everything we can to get people to donate as early as possible so we don’t have that crunch at the end. But human nature is you hang on and there are so many people looking for assistance in this town, other agencies that are also looking for funds. And it’s very tough.”

To donate, visit the United Way of Thunder Bay offices at 1093 Barton Street, phone 623-6420 of visit them online at www.unitedway-tbay.on.ca.