United Way Hastings-Prince Edward will not be setting a fundraising goal for its 2020 campaign.
“This year is very different,” Executive Director Brandi Hodge tells the MyBancroftNow.com newsroom. “We’re going to instead benchmark against last year’s achievement.” Last year they raised 101-percent of the $1,950,000 goal that was set. Hodge says it proved to be too difficult to figure out a goal this year. “We’re going to keep the community in the loop,” she says. “We’re going to let them know what we’ve raised in comparison to last year at the same time.”
A staple of the local United Way’s annual campaigns is the many events that are held throughout the region they serve. This year, Hodge says most – if not all – of those events are cancelled. She says it’s just not possible to host the events they normally do and have people gather together. “We’ve developed some very creative and innovative marketing,” she says, adding that they have thought up new ways to engage people.
On top of this year’s campaign, the local United Way allocated $315,000 into the community through its COVID-19 Community Response Fund.
While they will continue to work with associated agencies with pandemic relief efforts, Hodge says the 2020 campaign will not be solely focused on the coronavirus, but on the many campaigns United Way HPE runs during the year.
“This year has been unpredictable,” Hodge says. “What is predictable is that the need will continue to climb.”
You can donate to the United Way through their website, or by mailing them a cheque.
