In the News
November 31, 2013
One by one they stood, unrolling their giant paper cheques and calling out their totals.
More than 500 volunteers representing the hundreds of individual workplaces involved in the 2013 United Way campaign revealed the money they had raised Friday morning, at the touchdown breakfast in the Ambassador Conference Resort ballroom.
Some of the amounts were particularly impressive, such as the $210,000 from Canadian Forces Base Kingston, the $180,000 from Correctional Service Canada, the $80,000 from the Limestone District School Board or the $75,000 from the City of Kingston.
Smaller agencies or businesses also added to the amount. KEDCO delivered $2,200, Home Base Housing offered $5,000 and Kingston Police raised $8,500.
Even some of the agencies that benefit themselves from the campaign donated back. The Boys and Girls Club of Kingston and Area gave $3,506.
One of the more notable efforts came from the Canadian Hearing Society. The nine contributors donated $3,000.
When everything was added up, the campaign brought in $3,453,725, a total that was 1% more than the goal of $3,418,000.
But when the $171,540 from the 9,350 people who took a tour of Kingston Penitentiary over a 15-day period was added in, the total jumped to $3,625,000, a total 6% beyond the goal.
The United Way provides funding to 89 programs in the area, benefitting 85,000 people. More than 80% of the funding comes from more than 400 individual workplace campaigns in Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox and Addington.
Campaign chairwoman Lori MacDonald said the campaign gave her “a wonderful opportunity to meet people.”
She still has some wrap-up details to handle in the United Way office before it starts to gear up for next year. She wouldn’t say if she would return as chairwoman.
“That’s a secret,” she laughed.
The campaign was a memorable one for her.
“This was one of the best things I have ever done in my life, in terms of giving back to my community.”
She said she had taken the Seeing is Believing tours, in which campaign volunteers can tour some of the agencies that receive United Way funding.
“That really gives you an opportunity to actually see where your donated money goes and sometimes you see people living in the harshest conditions. It really breaks your heart when you see young people living on the street with no place to sleep at night.”
MacDonald said the work of the United Way agencies can make a major difference in the lives of people in the community.
“That’s what everybody in this room has done, helped 85,000 people,” she told the volunteers.
She encouraged more people to become involved with the United Way campaign, even as the chair.
“There is no more rewarding experience than this. This has been a tremendous year for me in terms of doing this campaign. I have met absolutely wonderful people. I have heard the most touching stories that have brought me to tears. I have seen the most wonderful opportunities that have come out of this.”
Source: Micheal Lea, The Kingston Whig-Standard
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