THUNDER BAY -- Michael Nitz says it’s time to sprint toward Dec. 31.
With about seven weeks left in their annual fundraising effort, the United Way of Thunder Bay campaign chairman says they’ve collected $924,156, about 35.5 per cent of their 2014 target. That still leaves a hefty $1.7 million to go, but Nitz says he’s happy with their progress to date.
“We’re feeling good about where we are, but we won’t know for sure until the end of December,” Nitz said Thursday, delivering a mid-campaign update at Home Hardware’s Memorial Avenue location, one of 300 businesses in the city taking part in workplace drives.
“We’ve raised just under $1 million and we’re asking workplaces to really step up and do a little bit more this year.”
Workplace campaigns are responsible for about half of the dollars collected each year, Nitz added.
“Every dollar makes a difference.”
Asked if it’s been a struggle this year – the United Way failed to hit its goal in 2013 – Nitz said it’s hard to say exactly how the campaign compares to previous efforts.
“Years can be different,” he said. “We can start out of the gate really strong. We can have slow beginnings to the year. But we’re feeling really good this year.”
Store manager Chris Sauer said his company holds raffles and staff barbecues throughout the year to help the cause.
“We like this cause because it stays local. All the dollars raised stay in Thunder Bay. The United Ways sees that the money is distributed where it is needed most,” Sauer said.
“It’s easy for businesses like ours to contribute and participate in employee campaigns. We would like to encourage other businesses and employees to support the United Way. We all know the need is everywhere.”
According to the United Way, about one-in-three people in Thunder Bay are impacted by the charity’s work.
To further spread that message, the organization this year made a concerted effort to hit social media, getting donors to talk about the United Way online.
“We’ve increased our Facebook followers, which is great and the campaign team has been visiting each and every agency throughout the year and we’ve been profiling the stories of those agencies on our Facebook and our Twitter pages.”
