Vicky Ryan brought Touchdown the dog to the Touchdown event wrapping up the United Way Thompson-Nicola-Cariboo campaign. Ryan bought the dog five years ago when her husband Tony was on the UWTNC executive — and he chose the name. This year’s campaign collected $2.1 million. Dale Bass photo/KTW
When the wrap-up event for this year’s United Way campaign began, the number showing in the calculator was just $1.3 million — a significant gap from the fundraising goal of $2 million.
Brenda Aynsley, executive director for the United Way Thompson-Nicola-Cariboo said she wasn’t at all sure the target would be met, but acknowledged two campaign supporters — Highland Valley and Taseko mines — had yet to reveal what they would be adding to the pot.
“We all work 365 days a year on this,” she told the gathering in the Mountain Room at Thompson Rivers University on Thursday, Dec. 12.
“But, this is the day we most look forward to.”
Gibraltar representative,s who made the trek down from Williams Lake, took the stage first, announcing their first campaign had collected $104,000.
There was a glimmer of a smile cross Aynsley’s face as she stood on the sidelines.
As has been tradition for years, a group from Highland Valley Copper crowded onto the stage and told the audience the employees’ campaign there came with a guarantee from the employer it would match all donations to a maximum of $300,000.
They then unveiled a stand-in large cheque for $676,185.
United Way staff started punching numbers into their calculator — and Aynsley started to cry.
Taking the stage, she thanked everyone, noting Kamloops never fails to amaze her and her agency with its generosity that again saw the campaign exceed its goal, hitting $2.1 million.
The other top workplace donation came from Thompson Rivers University, which contributed $61,329.
In addition to individual Kamloopsians contributing, 90 workplaces ran their own campaigns to add to the total.
Earlier in the evening, Dannalee Baker, the United Way’s director of community impact, told the group this year’s campaign included 29 Days of Caring that saw 263 volunteers taking on projects that need to be done at agencies in the city.
The Seeing is Believing bus-tour program, which takes people through the city to have an up-close look at some of those agencies, was also busy, with 13 tours taking 130 people on the two-hour jaunts.
Allocations to agencies and organizations will begin next year.
