Thank You to the County of Elgin! Posted: June 21, 2010
We are sending a big THANK YOU to the County of Elgin for their tremendous support in raising over $19,000 for the United Way at the 2nd Annual Warden´s Charity Golf Tournament! The tournament was held on Thursday, June 17th at the beautiful Tarandowah Golfers Club.
Thank you to the County of Elgin, the organizing committee, the sponsors and the golfers!
Help Choose This Year´s Movies for the Starlight Film Festival Posted: June 8, 2010
The Starlight Film Festival will be held again this year on Saturday, October 23rd from midnight-7:00am. This event is open to high school students only - and we need your help! Due to popular demand, we will be having the Fright Night theme again this year. We need you to help choose the movies you want to see.
The following are the movies to choose from:
Legion
Shutter Island
The Unborn
Obsessed
Drag Me To Hell
Orphan
Pandorum
Paranormal Activity
Zombieland
The Stepfather
The Fourth Kind
The Eye
Shutter
The Ruins
The Strangers
Please email your choices to office@stthomasunitedway.ca. Thanks!
Community Matters is a collaborative of local agencies led by the Elgin-St. Thomas United Way. The goal of this collaborative, along with its seven Action Groups, is to develop new or enhanced programming around four priority areas: Poverty, Transportation, Youth & Medical/Mental Health.
On this site you will find up to date information on news, events and the initiatives of this collaborative. For more information on the Community Matters Collaborative or anything else on this website, please don´t hesitate to contact us.
Applications are now being accepted for the Betty Want Scholarship for Community Involvement. The Scholarship was created to recognize Betty Want´s many years of service to the United Way and the community of Elgin County. One $1,000 Scholarship will be awarded each year to a student in Elgin County.
Are you currently unemployed or facing a job loss in the future? Your community is here to help! Attend this free event to find out the information you need on education, employment and training as well as other services that will help you with the stresses of day-to-day life.
The Elgin Adult Council for Education, Training and Employment in partnership with Community Matters is pleased to announce they will be hosting Community Links, an upcoming event designed to promote education, training and employment services for those living in Elgin County.
This free event will bring together agencies and organizations to provide information on: job search techniques; literacy & academic upgrading; training & employment programs; Ontario Works; apprenticeships & skilled trades; debt counseling; stress management; and more. The format of this event will be a combination of displays and interactive workshops and presentations.
Elgin Mall - Thursday, February 25 & Friday, February 26 from 11am-8pm & Saturday, February 27 from 11am-5pm
For more information contact:
Sharon Lechner, Elgin-St. Thomas United Way, 519-631-3171
Cathy Grondin, Employment Services Elgin, 519-633-5200 ext: 232
2009 Campaign Touchdown Posted: January 28, 2010
On Thursday, January 21, 2010, Sharon Lechner, CEO of the Elgin-St. Thomas United Way Services, announced that the 2009 Campaign had successfully raised $776,686. With an additional donation of $3,435 being made at the Campaign Touchdown event for a grand total of $780,121.
The original campaign goal was set at $800,000.
The announcement was made at the Family YMCA, a United Way Member Agency.
"We would like to thank all of the people who supported the 2009 Campaign. With plant closure announcements and massive job loss, people should be proud to be residents of Elgin County and the City of St. Thomas.", said Sharon Lechner.
Others that were thanked included:
The County of Elgin
Elgin Business Resource Centre
Ford/CAW 1520
Lear & CAW 2168
Galaxy Cinemas
Timken Canada LP
Gorman-Rupp
All Donors
Participating Workplaces
All volunteers and staff are to be commended for the incredible effort that was put forth, with many campaign divisions exceeding their internal targets.
Special thanks to Campaign Co-Chairs, Dan Reith and Susan Cole for leading the campaign and inspiring both staff and volunteers.
Applications for funding have been accepted by United Way and funding decisions will be made in March.
The Elgin-St. Thomas United Way has just completed a detailed campaign review. At this point, we are projecting a final campaign achievement of $741,000, which is $100,000 less than we raised in 2008.
In view of our economic situation, we strongly encourage those people who are still working to celebrate the fact that they are still employed and to think of a donation to United Way as insurance for family and friends who may need the many programs and services provided by United Way. United Way serves the entire population of Elgin County, which is approximately 85,000 people.
The Elgin-St. Thomas United Way provides year-round community impact and is currently the lead on a community collaboration, which is working on developing enhanced programming and new initiatives around Poverty, Youth, Medical/Mental Health and Transportation. This collaborative is called Taking Action on Community Matters. We have recently formed action groups around food security, youth, transportation, mental health and unemployment. It is our hope to have a lunch program up and running some time in 2010 and a Poverty Roundtable, which will be co-chaired by the CEO of the United Way and the Director of Ontario Works.
There are only five weeks left in this tax year and we strongly urge you to make your donation to United Way now. If you have computer, please consider an online donation at our website, which is www.stthomasunitedway.ca. Our mailing address is 300 South Edgeware Road, St. Thomas, Ontario N5P 4L1.
90% of all Canadians will need to use a program or service of United Way at some point in their lives.
Contact:
Sharon Lechner
CEO
Elgin-St. Thomas United Way
(519) 631-3171
Moving Forward with Community Matters organized through the Elgin-St. Thomas United Way is requesting funding proposals from local organizations/agencies interested in creating new or enhanced programming that will address a need in Elgin County and/or St. Thomas in the following areas: Poverty; Transportation; Medical/Mental Health; and Youth.
One time funding from $5,000 up to $20,000 will be granted to successful applicant(s). Proposed programming must be newly created by the organization or involve an enhanced component of a program already in place in your organization.
Please note: Only applications submitted by agencies/organizations with charitable status or affiliated with an organization with charitable status will be accepted.
Applications are due before Tuesday, December 1st 2009 at 4:00 p.m.
Please download additional attachment for complete details and the application form.
You can now register to participate in the 4th Annual Stair Climb and set up your own on-line pledging page! Just follow the link to set your goal and challenge your friends and family to support you!
Why will you climb? There´s a reason for every climber. The best and biggest reason to climb is to show you care for your community.
You´re climbing to help United Way and its member agencies deliver hope and help to thousands of people in St. Thomas and Elgin County. One step at a time, we can make this a better community for all.
Take the first step - register now to participate in our 4th Annual Stair Climb. Then lace up your running shoes and join us as we climb over 686 stairs to raise funds for our community.
2009 Day of Caring Posted: May 28, 2009
We would like to express a sincere thank you to the following participants for their help with the 2009 Day of Caring!
Central Elgin Collegiate Institute
Shane Gorman, Becky Vickers, Herman Stringer, Cory Dekeyzer, Amanda Kohler, Amanda Arends, Ashley Proctor, Rebecca Saunders, Charissa Thiessen, Brampton Dakin
Arthur Voaden Secondary School
Ashley Young, Krista Keates, Gwen MacLean, Meghan Dent, Justin Dobson, Brandon Cole, Chris Smithyman
St. Josephs High School
Patrick Faubert, Kylie Lechner, Jake Tewkesbury, Daniel Blyde
Parkside Collegiate Institute
Holly Campbell
Beal Secondary School - London
Brandon Taverner
Others
Ryan Dolby, Laura Dolby, Matthew Dolby, Jessica Dolby, Ethan Dolby, John Kittelberger, Heather Tavener Kydd, Michelle Deneister
Site Locations:
Talbot Teen Centre
Family YMCA of St. Thomas-Elgin
YWCA of St. Thomas-Elgin
Animal Aide of St. Thomas-Elgin
Pets/Friends for Life
Elgin Court Public School
Elgin County Railway Museum
CASO Station
St. Thomas-Elgin Second Stage Housing
Early Learning Centre
The Elgin-St. Thomas United Way was awarded a grant of $51,600 over 18 months to lead a community collaborative to develop enhanced programming, services and resources that will address community priorities identified in Elgin County through the Community Matters Initiative. These priorities identified by the community are youth, poverty and unemployment, medical and mental health and transportation.
Purpose of the Collaborative
The Taking Action on Community Matters Collaborative will further the important work of the Community Matters Initiative that was started in 2005. The members of the collaborative will take the information from Community Matters and develop recommendations, both financial and non-financial, relating to the specific needs that exist around these priorities. The collaborative will be divided into four task forces around the main priorities and the final outcome will be recommendations on how to enhance existing programs and/or develop new initiatives to address each priority.
You can find the final report from the Community Matters Initiative under the Community link on this website.
Caring For Others Posted: May 4, 2009
The Caring for Others school project was established in 2000 by the 18 Centraides (United Ways) of Quebec for the purpose of promoting an appreciation of volunteering and encouraging civic responsibility among children. Since then, United Ways across Ontario and beyond have modified the program to suit their community’s needs. The program looks a little different in each United Way, but the messaging is basically the same. It is designed to awaken children to the values of volunteering and community service.
The project will be offered annually to Grade 4 classes throughout the Thames Valley District School Board area. Each participating student and teacher receives an activity booklet for use during the lesson, but also to encourage some follow-up exercises after the session.
The goals of the program are to:
· Teach children the art of caring.
· To challenge children to make a difference and to teach them that they too can have an impact on their community.
· To share how members of our community do care.
· To further encourage good citizenship in schools and homes.
During the session we talk to the students about:
· How and why we need to care.
· What caring looks like.
· How can we expand our caring?
· Volunteering (spontaneous vs. organized).
· Agencies (who are they, what do they do, who might work there).
· How we can make a difference with our caring.
Thank you to everyone in St. Thomas and Elgin County who helped make the 2008 United Way Campaign a huge success! Our final achievement is $844,792 - which exceeds our goal of $800,000!
From all who will benefit from your tremendous generosity - THANK YOU!
The Loaned Representative Program Posted:
Loaned Representatives are a group of individuals recruited from sponsoring business, labour and government. They join United Way volunteers and professional staff in making our annual fundraising campaign a success. Time commitments are flexible, varying to the individuals participating in the program.
The Loaned Representatives are sponsored by their employers to supplement and support the volunteers and campaign staff during the annual campaign. They help volunteers to canvass employee groups, support special events and conduct presentations to workplace campaigns. Upon conclusion of the campaign, the Loaned Representative return to their jobs with a greater appreciation for some of the needs in the Elgin-St. Thomas area and a better understanding for the wide range of human care services that are part of this community´s safety net.
Why should Unions and their members support the United Way campaign? Posted:
In our rapidly changing and diverse society, being able to turn to our community for support and assistance can be critical for our families and ourselves. As our community continues to grow in size and complexity, social services are struggling to find the necessary resources to address problems that threaten our quality of life.
Because the United Way works closely with our community to identify needed human-care services, and then combines the donations of time and money from thousands of people to support these services, they have become a leader in improving the quality of life for all people in Elgin County. United Way is about people helping people, coming together to meet the needs and the demands within our community, the essence of the Labour/United Way partnership. .
The annual United Way campaign is a community wide effort and labour is a very important part of that community. Last year, over 60% of the donations raised by United Ways in Canada came from employees contributing through their workplaces. This support must continue to grow to ensure that the human and social care services continue to be met and the needs of the community fulfilled.
United Way takes the planned approach to community issues, such as: strengthening foundations for children and families; assisting people to break the cycle of poverty; supporting people with disabilities; and helping seniors stay healthy and connected. Collectively, Labour and the United Way work together to pool resources to provide efficient and effective fund-raising and community engagement services.
Labour shares this vision... after all, what we desire for ourselves we wish for all.
Together we can build a better community...
the community in which we raise our children!
