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25 | Thursday, March 9, 2017 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insideHALTON.com Funds raised for Oakville w ill stay here after merger continued from p.1 the celebration honoured local organizations and individu als for their contributions to U W O in 2016. UWO funds more than 30 local human and social service agencies, and 52 programs, that support more than 34,000 people locally "The people supported by our programs are real. They are people we meet each day in our community They are our neighbours, friends and maybe even our family," said Brad Park, UWO CEO. "Any one of us could be faced with one of life' s chal lenges. Thanks to all of you, a safety net of supports will be available to us when we need them." Regardless of the organiza tion' s name, Park said "We step up to support those who are in need. Everyone came to gether this year. It was a record achievement. It' s something we need to celebrate," said Park. From a donor' s perspective, United Way, after the merger, will still "look and feel" the same, Park said, noting there will still be local campaigns under the new banner. And dollars raised in Oakville, will stay in Oakville. "Donors will have the op portunity to direct their funds to the community they live in or choose to support. Those funds will go to support the agencies and programs in that community," said Park "There will still be local goals for Oakville, the amount of funds and the programs we're trying to support in this com munity will be individual." From an "amalgamation standpoint," the nevy bigger organization will be able to operate more efhciendy, Park stated. "Itfe back office efficiencies is really where we're going to save," he said. Park said the United Way will work with its partners across the region to under stand root causes and find common solutions to some of "our biggest problems." "By joining together, we can supporters. Campaign of the Year went to O'Connor MacLeod Elanna LLP for raising $26,000. It was the only workplace campaign last year to achieve 100 per cent employee partici pation, hosting an event that promoted UWO' s Leadership Giving program that accepted donations of $1,200 or more. 2016 Spirit Award winners: Agency Division Award Community Living Oakville Business Division Award Bard Canada Inc. Finance Division Award Genworth Canada M ajor Bank Division Award - BMO Bank of Mon treal Public Service/Education Division Award - Appleby College M anufacturing Division Award - Moen Speakers Bureau Award Maria Estrada Com m unity Engagem ent Dr. Angela Saunders Jo in t Union/M anagem ent Cam paign Award - Regional Municipality of Halton & CUPE 2620, 2620A, 3732, OPSEU 261, 265, 282, 207, 261A, ONA Campaign Builder Award -- Algonquin Power & Utili ties Corp. Com m unity Leadership Giving Campaign of the Year Award - GE Water & Process Technologies O utstanding W orkplace Campaign Coordinator Award - Lin Rogers & Neil Gallant, Town of Oakville O utstanding Union Cam paign C oordinator Award Shauna Canton & Linda Asselin, UNIFOR Local 707 Lifetim e Achievement Award - Ford of Canada, Ford Oakville Assembly Complex/ UNIFOR Local 707, UNIFOR Local 707/ Oakville Assembly Complex O utstanding Campaign Cabinet Volunteer Award George Anastasopoulos Campaign of the Year Award - O'Connor MacLeod Hanna LLP For more information, visit www.uwoakville.org. Outstanding Union Campaign Coordinator Award winners Shauna Canton and Linda Asselin of UNIFOR 707 personally spoke to more than 5,000 fellow employees to raise more than $509,000 for the 2016 campaign. | Nikki Wesley/Metroland invest more in our people and in our communities. This will help us be highly-efficient and responsive to changing needs locally and across our region," said Park, on the amalgama tion. Terry Smith, 2016 Cam paign Cabinet Chair, said "many hands make light w ork... there are a huge num ber of people involved." "When I got involved more closely with the United Way, I came to realize what an impor tant organization it is. Every body knows it, but they don't necessarily know what impor tant things it does," said Smith. At the ceremony, the UWO handed out Spirit Awards to recognize excellence in com munity giving among its vol unteers, donors, and corporate B e y o n d K it c h e n s &Bath £ /b (x jo n d y jo iit1 S a ^ h e c ta tio fis y w w w .b e y o n d k i t c h e n s .c a Design B u i l d FULLY CUSTOM nsta QEW Speers kitchens, vanities, wall unit, mantle, walk in closet, laundry room, Bar, etc; · Granite, Quartz countertops · Full renovation service · Real estate service; G aA /V i//&ShowroomLocation 466 speers Rd,unit 6-7 oakville, o n L6K 3W9 T: 905-338-8999 / 905-338-8199 F: 905-338-8099 info@beyondkitchens.ca Trades, realtors, builder programme available, please ask store for details; Lake Shore