The total is in for the 2016 Chatham-Kent United Way fundraising campaign.
Campaign co-chair Steve Pratt says this year’s campaign raised just over $1.7-million.
"It's definitely a life-changing experience to be able to get out and get to know my community," says Pratt. "To see what's going on for the different businesses and to see the people who are actually utilizing the services and count on the United Way's support every year."
Pratt says while serving as a co-chair he was also able to open other people's eyes to how much the United Way means for the community.
"From the VON Children's Bereavement Circle Program to Operation Backpacks and Operation cover-up, there's a lot of different programs that people didn't realize the United Way was behind," says Pratt.
For the second year in a row though, the United Way of Chatham-Kent's campaign has come up short of its fundraising goal.
This year's goal was $1.9-million, while the 2015 fundraising goal was $2,015,000.
That campaign came up about $162,000 short.
