Each year, VHA Home HealthCare (VHA) runs a fundraising campaign in support of United Way Greater Toronto. 2021 was a challenging year for many, but staff and service providers banded together to contribute and ultimately surpass its goal of $21,000.

United Way Greater Toronto is the largest non-governmental supporter of social services in the region. The organization fights local poverty by supporting the people impacted most and the neighbourhoods they live in through a network of agencies providing services to the region’s most vulnerable populations. VHA has a long-standing partnership with the United Way Greater Toronto and has been an anchor partner since 2017.

“Many of our Community Support programs are directly funded by the United Way and without their support these programs would not exist. Not only is the United Way a significant provider of vital support within our communities where our staff and their families work and live, but they also support many of our own programs in Community Support which have become even more important during the current crisis,” said Lucie Hager, VHA Employee Campaign Chair and Associate Regional Manager, Community Support Programs.

VHA’s campaign ran from November 1- December 31 2021. In previous years, VHA held in-person events to raise money, however due to COVID-19 precautions and many staff continuing to work from home last fall, the campaign occurred virtually for the second year in a row.

“It has been an immensely challenging few years for everyone and it was incredibly heartening for me to see how so many of our staff committed to pledging their usual and in many cases, larger annual donations. I am incredibly grateful to our team members who have shown such tremendous dedication to getting involved to help,” Lucie added.

The focus of this year’s campaign was community recovery. All funds raised will contribute to efforts towards United Way’s 10 Unignorable Issues:

• Homelessness
• Unemployment
• Newcomer Settlement
• Youth Success
• Domestic and Gender-based violence
• Child poverty
• Food Security
• Mental Health
• Senior Isolation
• Disability & Poverty

“I think what many people realized during the campaign is that, while some could see an end to the fourth wave of the pandemic in sight, those already suffering were still trying to catch up and recover from previous waves,” said Brandi Holloway, United Way Manager of Corporate Donor Relation and VHA campaign representative.

“I’d like to extend a massive ‘Thank You’ to VHA, which not only supports people in our community, but supports United Way through this campaign as well. This shows us that this network is really working as a social safety net for the Greater Toronto Area.”