United Way of Chatham-Kent

Our History

“The winter of 1887 was particularly cold and hard in Denver, Colorado. The silver mines had closed and people wandered the streets hungry and homeless. Clergy from the four largest parishes responded to the plight of the needy by seeking help from merchants and businesses. They discovered very quickly that the men of the cloth were in competition with each other as they made their calls. So they decided to join forces and make a united request to anyone who might be in a position to offer some assistance to the less fortunate. Together they would seek what aid they could and together they would share it amongst their parishioners. In those humble beginnings in Denver, Colorado in 1887, the first United Way was born.”

The United Way is a unique organization. It is not a single charity but a federation of charities which raises funds in one campaign each year to support a wide range of programs and services for the community it serves.

The United Way provides an effective and efficient way to collect funds for a variety of organizations. The federated campaign is seen as a more rationale approach to seeking funds and a systematic way of dividing these funds.

As United Ways and Centraides emerged in separate communities across Canada, the need was seen for a national organization to assist in the co-ordination of their efforts. Over the years, the name of the national organization has changed many times and today is called “United Way/Centraide Canada”. The United Way/Centraide Canada movement has been in existence since the early 1920’s. The National organization now represents 126 member United Ways across Canada and supports them as they carry out their mandate “to promote the organized capacity of people to care for one another”.

In 126 United Ways across the country, volunteers and staff strive to meet urgent needs in their neighbourhoods through a unique partnership with leaders from government, labour, business, special interest groups and individuals. They work with local social service agencies to help them develop and deliver innovative, high-quality and effective programs to meet the needs of individuals and families.

From coast to coast, United Way is a focal point for gathering community resources – volunteers, fundraisers, planners – working in partnership to enhance the quality of life for those around them. This unique partnership supports over 4,000 Canadian charities:

Agencies devoted to assisting children and youth, like boys and girls clubs, Big Brothers and Big Sisters, help telephone lines and counselling services;
Agencies helping families, like women’s shelters, self-help groups, crisis phone lines and family service associations;
Agencies dedicated to improving the lives of the disabled and the challenged, from the Canadian Red Cross, Canadian National Institute for the Blind and the Canadian Hearing Society to job training programs and guidance;
Agencies for older adults, offering counselling, visiting services, meals on wheels, respite care, community and employment centres;
Social and community planning agencies building better and healthier communities.

Across Canada, annually, hundreds of thousands of people get involved in United Way. Millions of dollars are raised, thousands of agencies provide services, and millions are helped through their efforts. But, however enormous and impressive these statistics, we must remember, those people are helped one person at a time. The campaign is the “raison d’etre” of the United Way. Without a campaign drive there would be no funds to support all the worthwhile member agency organizations. Thus, the basic goal of each campaign drive is to raise as much money as possible. Each of us knows a friend, or family member, who has been helped in some way by one or more of these health and social service groups. Without the help these agencies provide, a large number of our neighbours would be deprived of the help they need.

- taken from The Cadith Chronicle – Volume 1, Issue 2 – August 1993. “Your Bingo Country News – Where Winning is Just Part of the Fun!”