United Way Peterborough launches $1.85M campaign

The United Way Peterborough and District is once again aiming to raise $1.85 million for its annual campaign.

On Wednesday morning at the Evinrude Centre in front of supporters, organizers unveiled placards with a campaign fundraising goal of $1.85M — the same goal announced for the 2017-2018 campaign. That campaign managed to raise $1.775 million — about 96 per cent of the target.

“We just missed it by a smidgen last year so we thought we’d go back to community and say ‘let’s go get this,'” said United Way CEO president Jim Russell. “And hopefully we’ll get to 100 per cent this year and people seem pretty engaged for it.”

Russell says the need is great in the community and highlighted a focus on telling individual’s stories and concerns in a new  video called “50 People, 1 Peterborough.”

“We are going to build on that storytelling and we really hope – like a good news story – that it will have impact on people and motivate them to give,” he said. “We recognize the challenges for shy, but we never shy away from them.”

Campaign chairperson Megan Murphy says her vision for this year’s campaign is put the “you” back in United Way through storytelling and their guerrilla marketing #ChalkTalk campaign.

“I want Peterborough to understand that we own both the poverty and privilege in our community and to truly feel the impact that their donation makes,” she said.

The 2016 campaign managed to raise $1.82 million, missing the goal of $2,000,075 — the 75 representing the 75th anniversary of the United Way’s Peterborough chapter.

A number of events are planned throughout the six-month campaign which will support community agencies.

— More to come