A Challenge from our Campaign Chair, James Chmiel

James Chmiel

Everyday, United Way KW has an enormous impact on our community, ensuring an essential network of programs and services that work together to achieve lasting, positive change.
 
It has been a humbling honour to serve as the 2011 United Way KW Campaign Chair and to assist United Way KW with their efforts.

Our campaign, like our community, has faced tough times. We have not reached the $6 million goal we set for ourselves last September, or more importantly, that we felt this community needed.

Make no mistake about it, the $4.9 million we have raised to date is a truly impressive demonstration of generosity and caring at a time like this.

I’m not willing to stop there, however, because I know we can do better. At the United Way KW Community Spirit Awards on February 29th, I reaffirmed to attendees my commitment to building upon the $4.9 million we’ve raised to date.

United Way KW CEO Jan Varner then challenged attendees to reaffirm their commitment as well by donating an extra $29, $290 – whatever amount they were able – to support not only our campaign but also the 29Leaps Movement created by local teenager Madi MacIntyre.

It is this same challenge that I now issue to all of you.

When I visited Madi’s web site on February 28th, about 159,000 leap acts had been counted. When I visited again two days later, on March 1, that number had climbed to over 240,000.

Please, get involved, spread the message, and make Madi’s total - and the United Way KW campaign total - climb even higher.

After all, when our community is strong, supported, and resilient, we all benefit.

Thank you.

James Chmiel
President, Erb and Erb Insurance Brokers Ltd.
2011 United Way KW Campaign Chair

Campaign Shortfall a Cause for Concern

The final preparations for our Community Spirit Awards on February 29th are a little bittersweet. While we can't wait to honour the individuals and organizations that support us making a lasting difference in our community, we can't help but also worry about the shortfall in this year's campaign.

With $6 million as our overall revenue goal announced last September, we forecasted later last fall that only $4.9 million would be raised. Unfortunately, that is precisely where our total lies now.

We've had some rather significant commitments fall through from a few workplaces, and although many companies went above and beyond in achieving their campaign goals, it just hasn't been enough to fill the void.

I'm very grateful to our Campaign Chair, James Chmiel, who remains committed to helping us find more dollars. In a recent statement to the media, he encouraged those that can to dig even deeper and rally around our community. As he pointed out, even an increase to $5 million would make a tangible difference in meeting community needs.

We’re doing our best to keep our commitment to this community and hope to maintain the investments we made last year. As local demand for social services continues to rise, we are turning to you for further help.

It’s not too late to get involved and make a difference. Donations can be made online at uwaykw.org or by calling our office at 519-888-6100.

Thanks,

Jan

SAVE THE DATE: Community Spirit Awards - February 29, 2012

Our 3rd Annual Community Spirit Awards event is fast approaching. Be sure to mark your calendar now and join us for breakfast.
 
COMMUNITY SPIRIT AWARDS
FEBRUARY 29, 2012
7:30 a.m.
Waterloo Inn

Join us as we celebrate and acknowledge those individuals and organizations that exemplify year round efforts to bring about long term, sustainable social change in our community.

For more details, please visit the United Way KW web site.

Ski Down At Chicopee - Wednesdays from Jan. 11 - Feb. 1, 2012

Greetings Fellow Skiers!

Be sure to hit the slopes this winter with Chicopee Ski & Summer Resort and United Way. It's a win-win situation! You enjoy a discounted rate on a full day lift ticket, while $5 from each ticket purchased goes to United Way to support community needs.

Hope to see you there!

Jan

"Technology Gives Back" Holiday Social in Partnership with United Way KW!

On Wednesday December 14th, I attended a great event put on by Canadian Women in Technology, or CanWIT. The local chapter, launched by Angelique Mohring, is growing in leaps and bounds. They have some pretty exciting plans for the future, including launching a student bursary and holding a series of signature events in the Spring.

When I spoke to the CanWIT crowd this morning, I shared some of the challenges non profits face with IT and how their group might be able to assist. A huge thanks goes out to all who attended, as their entry "fee" was the donation of a used laptop! United Way KW will work with local partners to ensure these laptops are put to good use by local non profits.

Thanks again, CanWIT, for caring about this community. Change started this morning....

Jan

Dream Auction offers unique twist to online holiday shopping

This holiday season, United Way KW encourages you to give your loved ones an unforgettable gift that benefits our whole community.

If you're looking for the perfect Christmas gift - one that stands out from the rest and officially earns you the title of “Best Gift Giver of the Year” - you won’t want to miss the opportunity to bid in the 2011 edition of our Online Dream Auction.

As James Chmiel, our 2011 United Way KW Campaign Chair, explains, “We’ve taken your typical auction and transformed it into an opportunity to have the experience of a lifetime. Think back to your childhood dreams of what you wanted to be when you grew up. This auction provides a chance to make those dreams come true, either for yourself or for someone dear to your heart.”

Included among the many auction packages available are the chance to be police chief for a day, opportunities to be a talk show host or food critic on local radio, and the chance to play hockey with the Kitchener Rangers. These and many other dreams are only a bid away.

Whether it’s a well-deserved holiday gift for yourself, or something unique for that hard-to-shop-for person on your list, you'll find something for everyone.

In the spirit of the holiday season comes one more festive detail - all proceeds from the United Way KW Dream Auction will help support social service needs in our community. Afterall, the holiday season is the perfect time to help make a difference for someone in need.

Bidding starts Tuesday November 29th at 9 a.m. and closes at 4 p.m. on Wednesday November 30th. Bids can be placed at http://donateuway.com/auction or directly through the United Way KW web site at http://www.uwaykw.org/.

“And that’s the kind of day it’s been…”

In the world of television news, it’s safe to say that Lloyd Robertson is considered royalty. In fact, if it wasn’t for our own Lisa LaFlamme taking over Lloyd’s role when he stepped down from CTV National News earlier this year, the occasion would have been a very solemn one indeed, especially for those of us who’d come to rely on Lloyd over the years to keep them up to speed with current events.

Be it good news, bad news, or something in between, we could always count on Lloyd to tell it like it was with his deep, steady voice and calm presence. If anything - or anyone - ever ruffled his feathers, he certainly hid it well.

For many Canadians, Lloyd’s sign off - “and that’s the kind of day it’s been” - meant it was time to turn off the TV and go to bed.

Here I am sounding like Lloyd exited the airwaves permanently, when in actual fact you can still watch him regularly as host and chief correspondent for W5.

And… you can catch him in person right here in the KW area on Friday November 25th as he helps us honour Lisa LaFlamme at our Annual Celebrity Event at Federation Hall. For more details and tickets, visit http://www.uwaykw.org/.