United Way Guelph Wellington Dufferin kicked-off its 75th anniversary fundraising campaign on Sept. 12, announcing a goal of $3,600,075 to support local social service programs.
The announcement was made at the United Way’s Slide of Your Life event, a 1,000-foot water slide through Downtown Guelph (sliding was cancelled a few hours into the event due to high winds).
“What a wonderful way to bring our community together to support an incredible milestone for United Way”, said United Way campaign chair Karen Farbridge.
“Celebrating 75 years of making positive change in our community is an outstanding accomplishment and we are looking forward to another exciting campaign ahead of us.”
While operational, the Slide of Your Life event saw participants sliding down Norfolk Street on a “Slide the City” water slide.
Proceeds from the event will benefit United Way and the 95 local social service programs it supports. The slide was opened with local celebrity sliders including Mayor Cam Guthrie, Guelph Police Chief Jeff DeRuyter, Farbridge and past campaign chairs Bryan Larkin and Jim Jarrell.
“This is an exciting day for United Way and our community”, said Ken Dardano, United Way executive director.
“Celebrating this milestone is an incredible accomplishment only made possible by our very supportive community and generous donors. While the needs of our community have changed over the past 75 years, we do continue to see increasing demands in many areas.”
United Way Guelph Wellington Dufferin currently funds a network of 95 programs at 57 local agencies in Guelph and in Wellington and Dufferin counties.
Funding requests for the 2016 funding year are up from last cycle’s numbers, indicating the increased need for support from the community and United Way.
The campaign runs until the end of November. Donations are accepted at workplaces across Guelph and Wellington and Dufferin counties, and through the United Way office (519-821-0571 or www.unitedwayguelph.com).
