United Way sets $2-million fundraising goal
Two-million dollars.
That's the new fundraising goal of the United Way of Thompson-Nicola-Cariboo, as revealed by campaign cabinet chairman Yves Lacasse, superintendent of the Kamloops RCMP, at the agency's annual kickoff breakfast.
The Domtar-sponsored event, held on Friday, Sept, 21, at the Kamloops Convention Centre, attracted 500 people.
Among those at the fundraising initiative were representatives from a number of companies that pledged various amounts to start the campaign.
These included Highland Valley Copper ($325,000), Moly Cop Canada ($10,000), Royal Bank of Canada (($10,500), Kelson Group ($17,000), CIBC ($6,000), Bank of Montreal ($3,500), Scotiabank ($8,000), ISCU ($10,000), HMZ Law ($5,000), Canadian Tire ($3,300), TD Canada Trust ($12,700) and Gibraltar Mines ($95,000).
Also at the breakfast, a number of awards were handed out based on last year's fundraising efforts:
• Quantum Leap Award: Mount Polley Mine near Williams Lake, for raising $43,000, up from $19,000 the previous year.
• Largest Kamloops Corporate and Employee Award: Domtar, for raising $97,000.
• Greatest Impact Special Event Award: RCMP, whose Jail and Bail initiative raised $47,000 in one day.
• Most Fun Special Event Award: Thompson Rivers University, for its Pie Tie Tuesday fundraiser, in which donations of $5 or more gave people the right to toss a pie in the face of a senior TRY leader — or cut off their tie.
• Largest Regional Employee Campaign Award: United Steelworkers 7619, who raised more than $300,000.
• Largest Regional Corporate Campaign Award: Highland Valley Copper, which matched the United Steelworkers 7619 effort by donating an equivalent amount of more than $300,000.
• Most Inspiring Employee Campaign Co-ordinator Award: Julie Fisher of Finning.
• Largest Cariboo Corporate and Employee Campaign Award: Gibraltar Mines near Williams Lake, which raised $95,000.
The United Way uses money it receives to help communities in three focus areas — from poverty to possibility, healthy people strong communities and all that kids can be.
The agency's board, along with five community members in Kamloops, decide where and how to spend donations, while donations received in outlying communities — including Williams Lake, Logan Lake, Cache Creek and Ashcroft — are decided upon by the board and members from those towns.
For more information on how to donate to the United Way and how to co-ordinate an employee or company campaign, go online to unitedwaytnc.ca or call 250-372-9933.
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