Local United Way surpasses annual campaign goal

The United Way of Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox, and Addington (KFL&A) has surpassed their annual campaign goal raising a record-breaking $3,654,000.

The announcement took place as over 500 volunteers and supporters gathered at the Ambassador Hotel and Conference Centre, the United Way KFL&A Campaign Touchdown Breakfast on Thursday, Nov. 28, 2019. The announcement includes money in to date, as well as donations that are not in yet, but traditionally come in in December.

“Thank you to all the workplaces, volunteers, and community members who gave so much during this campaign – you can definitely feel the local love,” said Campaign Chair Scott Harris. “I’ve had the privilege of attending many workplace events over the past 12 weeks and I am so impressed with how caring and compassionate every member of our community is and continues to be. Together, we achieved this goal and we should be proud of that as a community.”

The United Way KFL&A Annual Campaign kicked off on Friday, Sept. 6, 2019 with a campaign goal of raising $3,551,000.

According to the local United Way this year’s campaign received a boost due to a new initiative. The Leadership Challenge Grant was set up by local donor Jessica Bayne Hogan, and encourages community donors to donate or increase their donation to the leadership level of $1,200 annually, with the grant matching their donation. As a result, leadership donations increased by 61 per cent this year.

“This campaign is about more than dollars raised, it is about lives impacted,” said Harris. “These funds will go a long way in making a difference in the lives of so many in the KFL&A area.”

On top of the announcement of the campaign’s results committee members from the Kingston Pen Tours and Rockin’ the Big House were also in attendance to announce their fundraising totals. Funds raised through both initiatives are not included in the campaign fundraising total.

Rockin’ the Big House, which took place on Saturday, Sept. 14, 2019 and brought over 3,000 people together on the ground of Kingston Penitentiary raised a net amount of $227,325. These funds were raised through sponsorships, as well as ticket, food, beverage, and merchandise sales.

The Kingston Penitentiary Tours, which continue to draw thousands of visitors to Kingston and the famous penitentiary, announced they’d had yet another successful year. The St. Lawrence Parks Commission, in partnership with Correctional Service Canada and the City of Kingston, presented a cheque for $500,000 towards the United Way’s youth homelessness initiatives.

“These funds will continue the important work being done to prevent and end youth homelessness in the community,” said Harris. “Thank you for the generosity and important partnerships in the community that continue to make this possible.”

For more information on the United Way KFL&A, go to www.unitedwaykfla.ca.