The United Way Centraide received some additional support to its 2008-2009 fundraising campaign from the Sudbury Catholic District School Board’s unionized and non-union staff at a recent board meeting.

United Way Campaign Chair, Jim Thompson approached Paula Peroni, Chair of the Sudbury Catholic District School Board at the start of the campaign to become part of the United Way’s Campaign Cabinet team and to encourage Board members and staff to contribute to this year’s fundraising drive. Towards that end, the Board of Trustees passed a motion at the October meeting that would encourage all staff to contribute generously to this initiative. “OECTA Elementary Teachers, OECTA Secondary Teachers, Principals and Vice Principals, CUPE Members, Senior Administration, Secretaries, Board Support Staff, IT Staff and Managers will be asked to contribute a minimum of $2.00 per pay in order to assist in the ongoing support for programs that are presently in place at many Sudbury Catholic Schools,” stated Peroni. “It is incumbent upon us as leaders in the Catholic community to set an example and show our support for the United Way campaign and it is our goal this year to significantly increase the SCDSB’s staff participation rate.”

Since 1982, the United Way Centraide Sudbury and District has been raising funds for critical community needs. As one of the largest non-profit fundraisers of social and human services in the Sudbury community the United Way supports 60 programs and services designed to assist people in the City of Greater Sudbury.

The United Way Centraide collected a total of $ 2.2 million for the 2007-2008 campaign. This year’s goal is set at $2.4 million.