Over 3,000 Londoners gathered for lunch froze as the lights at Budweiser Gardens were dimmed and a bus made its way into the arena at this year's United Way 3M Harvest Lunch.
The Local Love in Action bus was unveiled Thursday as part of the kickoff to the United Way Elgin Middlesex's annual fundraising campaign. The bus will be used to ensure the campaign reaches residents in Strathroy, St. Thomas, and Aylmer.
"Two years ago, United Way Elgin St. Thomas and London Middlesex merged and so we have this bigger footprint that we serve," said United Way CEO Kelly Ziegner. "What has been interesting is we have gotten a really good and intimate knowledge of the issues that small and rural communities face. Poverty looks different in those communities ...We need to understand those issues and how they affect those communities so that we can make wise investments there."
For the second year in a row, the United Way did not announce a fundraising goal, instead choosing to focus on local poverty and youth success.
"The London area ranks third in the country for child poverty and 78 per cent of young people are working in precarious employment and we can't ignore those issues," said Ziegner. "We think they are unignorable and think they need to be talked about. They are things our community needs to address so they can change."
Traditionally, the non-profit raises roughly $9-million through its annual campaign.
"There is so much need in our community right now and the entire campaign cabinet and the United Way team are working hard to raise as much money as we possibly can," said 2018 Campaign Chair Kyla Woodcock. "Every dollar that we can raise this year has an investment opportunity in our community and it can and will make a difference."
In addition to the Harvest Lunch, the United Way has at least two other major fundraising events planned for the coming months, including the Scotiabank StairClimb at One London Place in November, and a surprise not-yet-announced event this winter.
"The easiest way to give is either to contribute through a workplace campaign, if you work for an employer who is a supporter of United Way, and if not there is a really easy link on the website or any United Way socials to click to donate," said Woodcock.
All money donated through the campaign remains in the community in which it was raised and will go toward food, housing, transportation access, and recreation for the area's most vulnerable individuals.
The United Way funds 96 programs and services including the Boys and Girls Club and Big Brothers Big Sisters.
To make a campaign donation or to volunteer for the United Way visit www.unitedwayem.ca.