Bringing neighbours together

2009 Highlights

United Way focuses on working in conjunction with community agencies and partners to best serve the interests and needs of the community. Through research we identified that safe, clean, accessible community space is a vital component in bringing neighbours together. About 100 volunteers from CIBC, Scotiabank, TD Bank, Deutsch Bank, and Cassels Brock joined forces in the Grey Abbey Clean Up & Tree Planting Project.

More than 20 Citigroup volunteers helped to prepare a community garden for planting at East Scarborough Storefront, a United Way member agency that provides home support services to elderly and/or disabled persons to enable them to remain independent in their own homes. The garden plots are used by community members to feed their families, as well as some larger plots that East Scarborough Storefront farms in support of a local food bank.

A team of dedicated volunteers from Brookfield Properties rolled up their sleeves, helping prepare plots for planting, while others helped out in the kitchen at United Way member agency, Central and Northern Etobicoke Home Support Services (CANES). Seniors and adults grow their own food in about 40 community garden plots at their subsidized apartment complex.

Watch this slide show of the 2009 Community Day of Caring

Community Day of Caring generates 1200 volunteer hours creating safe, clean, accessible community space

United Way Toronto's second annual Community Day of Caring was a resounding success with over 400 volunteers from across Toronto coming together to complete 55 community projects at United Way member agencies/hubs, neighbourhood associations and City of Toronto Parks and Recreation. An incredible 1200 hours of volunteer time was generated in just one day making a lasting impact on the community.

Last year's pilot project mobilized over 125 volunteers from ten corporate partners to focus on the needs of a single community, in this case Scarborough. Community Day of Caring is driven by United Way's Community Impact Strategy, which recognizes that we can only make neighbourhoods better by partnering with all community stakeholders—including our member agencies, schools, government, business, labour, voluntary associations and other local groups. Working together we can understand social trends better, tackle the root causes of problems and determine long term community goals. By mobilizing all community resources, we can create unique volunteer opportunities in addition to the annual campaign and the agency programs that our campaign funding supports.

This year's Community Day of Caring expanded participation by 220% on projects that were as diverse as the volunteers themselves. Employees of all levels joined together from workplaces across the city, rolling up their sleeves to paint/clean walls, assist staff in seniors programs, clean up parks and plant trees, cultivate community gardens, and mentor new immigrant job seekers.

United we can make a lasting difference in our community!