THUNDER BAY – United Way of Thunder Bay CEO Albert Brule says his organization is facing at least a $300,000 shortfall in 2020.
Brule on Tuesday said the figure represents money the charity would normally take in from a variety of events, including workplace campaigns and dress-down days, that will likely fall by the wayside because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
It has him concerned about their ability to provide the needed funding so many local agencies depend on from the United Way each year.
He’s hopeful the public will step up to minimize the fundraising shortage, making the plea on a Giving Tuesday that saw Tbaytel step up and promise to match up to $10,000 in donations, part of the United Way’s first Show Your Local Love Day.
“What’s at stake is kind of like a double-whammy. Because of COVID-19, people are turning to social service agencies, reaching out for mental health crisis counselling, looking for food, looking for shelter at numbers that we’ve never seen before in our community,” Brule said.
“So the need has risen, but the resources are down – not just with the United Way, but all of the agencies that we support, they also do fundraising and they’ve had to cancel events. It’s almost like a tsunami of increased need, reduced resources, so we’re really going to have to come together.”
Dan Topatigh, president and CEO of Tbaytel, said there’s no better way to kick off the company’s 12 Days of Christmas campaign with an effort to help the United Way reach their 2020 campaign goal.
“They’ve really been a pillar in this community for so long. We realize that the events of the pandemic are going to be really challenging across the board, particularly for raising funds,” Topatigh said. “Without question we wanted to be there to support them.”
The 12 Days of Christmas is an employee-driven campaign that was started in 2015 as a way for staff to bring a little joy to others during the holiday season.
To donate to the United Way’s Recover 2020 campaign, visit www.uwaytbay.ca.
