The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

18 - The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday February 27, 2008 www.oakvillebeaver.com Earth Day and Eco Fest work Town support Today (Wednesday) in the program room at the Glen Abbey Public Library, the Oakville Community Centre for Peace, Ecology and Human Rights (OCCPEHR) will host two, one-hour presentations on volunteering for its Earth Day Clean Up and Halton Eco Festival. Those interested can attend from either 6:30-7:30 p.m. or from 7:45-8:45 p.m. A variety of fun assignments will challenge residents to bring people out from their neighbourhood to the Earth Day Clean Up and to the Halton Eco Festival on Saturday, April 19. OCCPEHR is combining its two big annual environmental events on the same day in 2008, April 19. For more information on the events, contact 905-849-5501, P.O. Box 52007, Oakville, L6J 7N5 or volunteer@oakvillepeacecentre.org. Tales for a Winter Evening in Bronte The Bronte Historical Society will present Tales For A Winter Evening: glimpses into the lives of Bronte folk through the years; drawn from journals, family papers, official records and word of mouth on Thursday, Feb. 28 at 7:30 p.m. at the historic Sovereign House, 7 West River St. The program will be preceded by a short annual general meeting and followed by socializing over refreshments. All are welcome. Admission is free. Donations are appreciated. Call 905-825 5552 for further information. Unique Cabinet Concepts DON'T BE FOOLED BY IMITATORS -WE'RE TRULY UNIQUE!! Manufacturers of fine custom cabinetry since 1976 RON KUZYK / OAKVILLE BEAVER FOR UNITED WAY: The Town of Oakville's 2007 Employees United Way Committee presents a cheque for $62,850 to the United Way of Oakville. Holding the cheque are Barbara Burton, CEO, United Way Oakville, Chris Clapham, Town of Oakville, and Mayor Rob Burton, with committee members and staff in the background. · KITCHENS · BATHROOMS · WALL UNITS · BEDROOMS AND MORE We proudly offer a Lifetime Warranty on all of our cabinetry. Our qualified designers are waiting to show you the room of your dreams! We are conveniently located at Between Walkers & Appleby Line in Burlington United Way falls short By Krissie Rutherford OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF 4150 South Service Road www.uniquecabinetconcepts.com 905-632-0029 United Way of Oakville fell $100,000 short of its 2007 campaign goal, pulling in a total of $2.1 million, the organization announced yesterday. While the 2007 campaign surpassed last year's by a small amount, UWO CEO Barbara Burton says they're dealing with the same problem they faced in 2006. "The biggest challenge is people need to know the needs of the community," she said. "They just assume that social service needs like poverty and homelessness are only in urban centers, when in fact they exist here in Oakville." The most difficult part of fundraising, says Burton, "is convincing the people that we need their support." Some of the organization's biggest supporters were on hand yesterday at the Oakville Conference and Banquet Centre for the UWO community achievement celebration, where campaign "heroes" were officially recognized. The presentation saw 16 awards handed out to volunteers, for best campaigns, new campaigns, education and more. The funds they helped raise go to the more than 30 social service agencies the United Way of Oakville supports through funds and capacity building. These agencies include the Halton Trauma Centre, Big Brothers and Food for Life. UWO board chair Gordon Ross says what many people don't realize is that the organization strikes a chord across society. "All people in our community are impacted by the United Way through things like the Alzheimer's Society," he said. "There are programs that would assist families of any socio-economic class. A lot of people don't know that." Like Burton, Ross stressed spreading awareness as key to meeting the campaign goals in Oakville. "We hoped to do a little better than we actually did with fundraising this year," Ross said. "On a positive note, we did start a lot of new initiatives, so we're very excited about that. We've made a new start and we have new beginnings to carry on." The driving force for the 2008 campaign who will see that these beginnings carry on was officially welcomed at Tuesday's ceremony. Former Mayor Ann Mulvale is the new Campaign Cabinet Chair for UWO, taking over for outgoing chair Brendan Moore. Mulvale will be leading the 2008 campaign ­ and she isn't wasting any time in getting started. "I speak to you as a donor, I speak to you as a fellow volunteer, and I speak to you as a leader," Mulvale told the crowd. "Together, we will give meaningful, life-changing empower- ment to the people in our community. "I'm excited, I'm revved. I'll be calling you," Mulvale told the supporters present, smiling. "We're really excited about Ann being on board," said Burton, who approached Mulvale to take the position. "She knows the community and I think she's going to be a very strong driver." Burton said Mulvale will be an integral part of driving awareness in the community. "The agencies really rely very heavily on United Way, so they can go out in the community and offer their services, so we've been working on awareness, and that's certainly going to be high on our priority list for 2008." The CEO noted with Oakville growing as it is, the needs are only going to increase. "We fund so many agencies that are crucial to the town of Oakville," added Moore, who spearheaded the 2007 campaign. "It's awareness of the needs that we need to work on." Moore said he was pleased with the result of the 2007 campaign, but there's room for improvement. "It's been a challenge to get as much funding as we can to the agencies," he said. Added Burton, "I know what we can do with so many more dollars, and we'll get there. It'll just take time." For more information on the United Way of Oakville, visit www.uwoakville.org.