The United Way of Chatham-Kent is on track to finish $200,000 short of their 2015 goal.
So far the charity has pulled in $1.4 million, but are still hoping to raise just over $2 million in the next two weeks. Co-chairs Kelly Bayda and Aimee June made another appeal for donations Monday at the United Way-supported New Beginnings, ABI and Stroke Recovery Centre. Bayda fought back tears during the presentation.
"There are people in our community that need our help every day. For those of us who can, we must ensure that social safety net remains intact."
The $2,015,000 goal is up 5% from last year. While June admits it's a lofty goal, it is a necessary one.
"We need to increase our targets slightly every year to actually be able to meet the needs of the agencies we provide for. Although our target was reached last year, we still weren't able to provide all the agencies and services with the funds required to keep their operations running."
The United Way is in year one of a five-year plan to be raising $2.5 million annually. June says that will be enought to sustain the 40 agencies the United Way supports.
