Students and staff at the Thames Valley District School Board have given the United Way a six-figure shot in the arm.
At Tuesday night's school board meeting, it was announced that a donation of $318,212 was given this year to the United Way chapters in Middlesex, Elgin, and Oxford counties.
More than 80% of the donation came from staff payroll deductions. The rest was raised through events like the United Way StairClimb and the annual United Way football games.
“The ultimate goal of the United Way is to help people improve their quality of life," says TVDSB Education Director Laura Elliott. "The United Way is about bringing people together because we accomplish more as a community than any of us can alone.”
Paul McKenzie, administrative liaison and TVDSB superintendent, says they are grateful for all the support they have received from staff and students for this initiative.
"The donations from our school communities and individuals will continue to support the important and impactful work of our three United Way organizations in our community," McKenzie says.
Over the past ten years, donations to the United Way from students and staff at the TVDSB have surpassed $3-million.
The United Way of London-Middlesex announced earlier this month that it had exceeded its campaign goal of $9.1-million.
**This story was written by Kayley Leon, a student in the Media, Theory, and Production program at Western University. Kayley is currently performing an internship with BlackburnNews.com**
