United Way Guelph Wellington Dufferin celebrates 2022 fundraising success

It was a successful 2022 United Way Guelph Wellington Dufferin fundraising campaign.

The organization announced Wednesday during a ceremony at Linamar in Guelph, Ont., that they were able to raise $2,603,347. The total announced was based on received and pledged dollars.

It was the first live, in-person celebration by the United Way since 2020. There was no set fundraising goal as the charity, like many other not-for-profit organizations, has faced challenges in raising money since the COVID pandemic began.

“People had to work a lot harder,” said UWGWD executive director Glenna Banda. “It was quite stressful. But people showed empathy, perseverance and commitment. When it is a challenging time like this, the long-term supporters that are there for us really help us get to our goal.”

“We kind of likened it to a roller-coaster,” said outgoing campaign chair Patricia Tersigni. “But these last couple of years have been no exception, probably even harder than the beginning of the pandemic.”

The United Way also handed out awards recognizing the outstanding achievements of their volunteers. Here are the individuals and organizations that were honoured on Wednesday:

Cornerstone Awards

• Public Sector, Mid-Size Organization – County of Wellington
• Private Sector, Mid-Size Organization – The Co-operators
• Public Sector, Large Organization – University of Guelph
• Private Sector, Large Organization – Linamar Corporation

Community Champions

• Helen Robson, Linamar Corporation
• Sue Keuhl, Sleeman Breweries
• Mark Colvin, University of Guelph
• Robin Drew and Rebecca Force, OMAFRA
• Lorena Wilson, TransAlta

Lifetime Achievement Award

• Donna Bryson, GM Blue Plan

Incredibles Award

• Robyn Gladstone, Linamar Corporation
• Les Herr, Herr Wealth Management

Local Love Award

• Kirtida Kitchen
• University of Guelph’s Food Sciences Department

Leading the Way Award

• OMAFRA

Bright Star Award

• The Frank Hasenfratz Centre For Excellence In Manufacturing
• Sleeman Breweries

More than 150 workplaces took part in the campaign and more than 4,000 donors contribute to the United Way.

“Along with the workplaces that we celebrated today, there are a lot of individuals who donated through either direct mail or our website,” said Banda. “They are not celebrated in the same way, but we are greatly appreciative of the support.”

The event also marked the end of the two-year term for Tersigni as campaign chair but she says she is leaving the post in an excellent position to do more.

“I’ve met some really great people in the community that I didn’t know before, and I’ve strengthened relationships that had already existed,” Tersigni said. “Guelph Wellington and Dufferin is such a caring community. There is really nowhere to go but up.”