Local residents are being asked to do their part in the last week of the United Way Toronto's annual fundraising drive, a campaign that so far sits $3 million short of its $116 million target.
Speaking at a press conference Wednesday, United Way Toronto president and CEO Susan McIsaac said that like other campaigns in the Greater Toronto Area, Toronto's drive is feeling the effects on what is a tough economy.McIssac said the goal of $116 million was set in early September with a full realization of the increasing need for the United Way and the services it supports across Toronto."We knew we had to do everything in our power to address a growing vulnerability in our city," she said. "In the months since then, the situation has become even more precarious. Our network of agencies support thousands of people when they need it the most. Those agencies are feeling the pressure. People are counting on us."We heard similar concerns just before Christmas as both the Salvation Army's kettle campaign and the Daily Bread Food Bank in Toronto were also seeing a drop in donations. Pleas to the public in the final days were able to push the Salvation Army over the top for its national fundraising goal of $19 million to an actual collection of more than $20 million. The Daily Bread was barely at half its goal of 1.2 million pounds of food just before Christmas. However, Daily Bread also received strong support at the end of the month collecting $1.5 million in cash and 1.1 million pounds of food. The cash goal was $1.2 million, so Daily Bread exceeded its goals at the end of the day.The question is are Torontonians able to dig deep once again, this time to help the United Way? At some point, there's a donor fatigue factor which needs to be taken into account with so many campaigns making the time around the holidays their prime time for collecting. And asking for extra support in a week so many residents are dealing with Christmas bills, is a tough sell.That being said, the good the United Way does in scores of neighbourhoods across the city is profound. In the case of the United Way it only takes a little to do a lot, and donations of all amounts are welcome.To make a donation, visit www.unitedwaytoronto.com or call 416-777-2001.