Now more than ever, Brock University’s United Way campaign is striving to make a difference in the local communities that need it most.

Although it looks a little different this year, the 2020 Brock employee campaign will play an even greater role in funding more than 154 vital United Way programs and initiatives across the Niagara region. Donations will help the broader United Way Niagara campaign achieve its mission of making local issues ‘Unignorable’ and improving the lives of 120,000 local people in need.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted all of our lives in ways we could have never imagined, and it can be easy to feel stuck at home wondering what you can do to make a difference,” said Sandy Howe, Brock’s United Way Committee Staff Co-Chair. “Giving to the United Way is a simple way that faculty and staff can come together to support our neighbours and communities in these difficult times, regardless of where you are living or working from. Contributions to the Brock campaign can be designated to any city or community in Canada, or to a registered charity of your choice.”

As this is an unconventional year, the United Way Committee has opted to not set a concrete fundraising goal as it has in the past. Instead, the focus of the campaign is on increasing awareness and giving — no matter the amount — across campus to help as many people as possible.

Many of the campaign’s traditional fundraising events aren’t on the docket this year, but faculty and staff can still support the campaign by setting up their contributions through Workday from now until Dec. 21. Employees who donate online by noon on Friday, Oct. 30 will be automatically entered into a draw to win an early bird prize package donated by the Campus Store.

“While everyone is dealing with the challenges and hardships associated with COVID-19, the pandemic is having an even more profound impact on the region’s most vulnerable,” said Lynn McCleary, Brock’s United Way Campaign Faculty Co-Chair.

One in seven Niagara residents is currently living in poverty — including one in four children — and more than 50,000 local people regularly struggle to afford healthy food. One in five report struggling with mental illness, while the same number reported experiencing social isolation.

COVID-19 has amplified the challenges many people are facing and any donation, no matter the size, can go a long way in making a difference to those who need it most.

• By giving $2.50 per week ($130 per year) counselling can be provided to 10 people in need in the local community.
• A donation of $5 per week ($260 per year) can send 10 children back to school with backpacks full of school supplies or provide five children with access to a one-on-one literacy program that will help them be more successful in the classroom.
• For a family fleeing abuse, a donation of $10 per week (or $520 per year) can provide them with the emergency shelter and food they need to survive while they transition to a safe environment.

Thanks to a number of matching opportunities available for both new and returning donors, every dollar given this year will have an even bigger impact.

• Donations made by first-time donors will be matched dollar-for-dollar by The Friends of Golf New Donor Match — no matter the amount.
• As part of the new #UNIGNORABLE Match, returning donors who give between $1 and $1,199 and choose to increase their donation will have the amount of the increase matched by The Brown Homestead in association with the Humeniuk Foundation.
• Donors who give a leadership donation of $1,200 or more for the first time will have their gift matched dollar-for-dollar by The Partridge Family Leadership Match.
• Current leadership donors who increase their gift by 10 per cent or more will have their increase matched by The Partridge Family Leadership Match.

The Brock community has raised more than $2 million for United Way since 2003. Last year’s campaign raised more than $170,000 and saw Brock University recognized with United Way Campaign of the Year in March 2019.

“We have seen the strength and generosity of our Brock community first-hand, year after year, and the United Way campaign gives us a chance to make an impact and change lives for the better,” said Howe.

To learn more about Brock’s United Way campaign and to make a contribution, visit the United Way campaign SharePoint site.

Please contact Lynn McCleary at lmccleary@brocku.ca or Sandy Howe at showe@brocku.ca with any questions, or join the United Way Coffee Chat via Focus on Learning at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 29.