THUNDER BAY -- The United Way of Thunder Bay has set a modest $2,659,000 goal for 2016.
In fact, the total is more than $3,600 less than last year's campaign target, an indication of the struggles the charity experienced in 2015 when it came up shy of it states goal.
It's a sign of the times, said campaign co-chair Mary McLellan on Thursday morning at the annual campaign launch breakfast.
“I think we were being conservative when we set the goal,” said McLellan, general manager at the Valhalla Inn, which hosted the breakfast.
“I have no doubt that we’re going to hit that and probably more. But there is more than one organization out there looking for donations. It’s a different economy now. We want to make sure we’re being realistic, but that can be achieved and perhaps overachieve where we need to go.”
She’s confident holding steady won’t have an impact on the 29 agencies the United Way of Thunder Bay services, noting that if they do hit their target it would set a new campaign collection record.
“I think we have a strong community that’s going to come to the plate and is going to give more than we ask for because they always do,” McLellan said.
About one in three people in the city make use of the United Way, which is why it’s so important to help them hit their goal said McLellan’s co-chair Michael Nitz.
One way of doing that is finding new people to give – or convincing long-time donors to dig a little deeper.
To achieve that, this year the United Way has introduced the Buck-a-Day program, which encourages new and existing supporters to commit $365 a year.
“Be B.A.D. for good … It will go a long way to helping people in our community and small differences like that or small amount like that per day an add up to a huge community impact here in Thunder Bay,” Nitz said.
Visit http://www.uwaytbay.ca/get-involved/make-donation to make a donation.
