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On Wednesday November 27^th, 2019 a group of United Way for the City of Kawartha Lakes Staff, Board members and volunteers met at the Crayola Canada office to be presented with a cheque from the 31^st Annual Crayola Sale. The sale is held every year at the Lindsay Exhibition Fairgrounds (LEX) and attracts shoppers from all over the province; some shoppers even travel from the United States. The sale creates both local and global impacts as several attendees return each year to purchase Crayola products for mission trips to Mexico, Cuba and even Zimbabwe! Other attendees purchase goods for Holiday presents, or as supplies for classrooms.

Two years ago, the team at Crayola Canada set a goal of raising $40,000 to reach a total of $1,000,000 donated to the United Way for the City of Kawartha Lakes over 29 years. This goal was exceeded in 2017, and the success continued in 2018 with another $42,620.80 raised. United Way for the City of Kawartha Lakes is excited to announce that 2019 was in fact the largest ever Crayola Sale, bringing in $45,132.00. United Way will use these funds to continue implementing their vision statement of crafting human care agendas within and across our communities, building coalitions around these agendas and increasing investments by expanding and diversifying resource development. The staff, board members and volunteers at United Way work tirelessly to ensure that these investments have recognizable impacts, and extend their thanks to Crayola for leading the way for other businesses to invest in our community.

Crayola Canada believes that every person in the community deserves an opportunity for a quality and colourful life: “We are very fortunate that the annual Crayola Sale can assist children, youth, and adults in the City of Kawartha Lakes.  The sale started simply as a yard sale with a few Crayola products added in.  It was the beginning of a long-term relationship and, thanks to the efforts of countless volunteers from Crayola, the UWCKL, and the community, it has grown to its current form.”

Penny Barton Dyke, Executive Director of the United Way for the City of Kawartha Lakes shares her gratitude: “Our campaign this year has been about inspiring others to care and to lead.  Crayola and its employees truly are exceptional in their commitment to helping children, youth and families.  Their corporate leadership is outstanding as are the employees who volunteer for the sale and join in their workplace campaign. It is amazing to see shoppers from across the province support the sale and know there is a ripple effect in addition to the funds helping thousands of children and their families for 31 years. We would also like to thank the LEX for hosting the sale once again this year; when we all work together on community projects, lifelong impacts happen.”

United Way for the City of Kawartha Lakes and Crayola Canada have recently launched an exciting development in their partnership. In 2019, Crayola Canada, Fleming College and United Way CKL partnered to develop nearly 2 acres of unused land on the lot adjacent to the Crayola building into Edwin Binney’s Community Garden. Some of the funds raised at the 31^st Annual Crayola Sale will go towards this Community Garden project, which in its first year of operation was able to provide over 5,500 pounds of produce to 10 food banks and 11 agencies in the City of Kawartha Lakes, while also teaching agriculture workshops to 350 children from 15 school and summer camp groups. Plans for expansion in year 2 are well under way; those interested in getting involved should follow United Way for the City of Kawartha Lakes on Instagram (@unitedwayckl), Twitter (@UnitedWayCKL), and Facebook (@UWCKL).

United Way for the City of Kawartha Lakes is excited to announce that its newest endeavour in food security work is paying off in a big way- 1,046 pounds worth, to be exact! Edwin Binney’s Community Garden is the name of the new endeavour: it is 30,000 square feet of Crayola Canada’s previously unused land that United Way and Fleming College staff have developed into a fully operational community garden. The garden is maintained by staff from both United Way for the City of Kawartha  Lakes and Fleming College’s Sustainable Agriculture program, as well as several volunteers from Crayola Canada, Farm Credit Canada, and the community.

In just two months since its Grand Opening, staff and volunteers at Edwin Binney’s Community Garden have: planted and maintained 30,000 square feet of land plus twenty-four colourful raised garden beds; set up an innovative and sustainable irrigation system; hosted educational workshops for kids ranging from 3 to 17 years old; and harvested and donated 1,046 pounds of fresh vegetables to local agencies such as food banks, shelters, the Good Food Box, and kids programming agencies.

The work is far from over! “1,046 pounds of vegetables is a huge milestone for us, and we are so excited to share this news with the community,” said Elly Millington, Projects and Communications Coordinator at United Way for the City of Kawartha Lakes. “The excitement doesn’t end here for us this summer; we are only just getting started with the harvest and are putting out a call for more volunteers to help with our first annual fall harvest. If you enjoy spending time outside and want to get your hands dirty while helping your community, we want to meet you!”

Anyone interested in volunteering their time to help with a worthy and innovative cause should contact the United Way for the City of Kawartha Lakes office at 705-878-5081 or fill out the volunteer form here.

The United Way for the City of Kawartha Lakes is pleased to announce their Campaign Chair for the 2019-2020 Campaign. The Campaign Chair will be Inspector Tim Tatchell, the Detachment Commander for the City of Kawartha Lakes Detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police. 2018-2019 Campaign Chair Kawartha Lakes Police Chief Mark Mitchell joined Tatchell and United Way CKL Executive Director Penny Barton Dyke to make the announcement on BOB FM.

“I am excited to take on the role of Campaign Chair and work with the staff at the United Way for the City of Kawartha Lakes during their 2019-2020 campaign. We all lead busy lives but when I saw the great work being done in our community by the local United Way and their awesome partners I knew it was important that I do my small part, and commit my time to assist them in achieving their goals,” Inspector Tatchell said, “Having returned to the Kawartha Lakes in the past year as the Detachment Commander of your local OPP detachment, I look forward to meeting the different community members that actively support the United Way at the many workplace and community events throughout the upcoming year.”

“We are thrilled to have Inspector Tim Tatchell as our Campaign Chair for the upcoming campaign. He has embraced the role with enthusiasm and looks forward to learning more about the work United Way and its member agencies does in the community,” said Barton Dyke. “The number of people who benefit from United Way funded programming continues to grow as over 50,000 people now access services in City of Kawartha Lakes and Haliburton County. This increase is a testament to our funded agencies’ ability to be aware of emerging needs in our community and to adapt their programs and services to address these needs.”

United Way for the City of Kawartha Lakes supports agencies and programming in the City of Kawartha Lakes and Haliburton County. All funds raised stay local. Therefore, funds raised in City of Kawartha Lakes stay in CKL and funds raised in Haliburton County stay in Haliburton County.

United Way CKL would like to thank Chief Mitchell for his continued support and for engaging Inspector Tatchell as Campaign Chair.

United Way for the City of Kawartha Lakes would also like to invite the community to join us for our campaign Kickoff at Smitty’s Restaurant on Wednesday, September 11^th from 7:30-9am. Tickets are $15 and can be purchased in advance at our office at 50 Mary Street West or reserved by calling 705-878-5081 or emailing communityinvestment@ckl.unitedway.ca

Crayola Sale Date Change: The date of the annual Crayola Sale for United Way has changed. The sale will be on Saturday November 16^th from 8am to 12pm at the LEX.

No matter what time of year, rain, sleet or shine, David Burns is there for us. His business, Burns’ Snow Removal has been run locally by his family for over 50 years. From the beginning, Dave says that his business has been “very community minded.”

For the past five years, Burns’ Snow Removal has quietly supported United Way for the City of Kawartha Lakes’ community garden initiatives by making soil and straw deliveries.

Along with current community development work, United Way for the City of Kawartha Lakes has expanded their Community Garden projects exponentially for the year of 2019. 30,000 sq. ft. of land has been donated to United Way CKL through a land use agreement with Crayola Canada. An unused lot on Crayola’s property in Lindsay, Ontario will now be turned into a community garden which will provide produce for programs such as the Good Food Box, Meals on Wheels, food banks, school nutrition programs, and so much more. Community Gardens yield more than food, they provide many teaching opportunities and will draw people together socially to help strengthen our neighbourhoods.

From the start, David has been extremely enthusiastic and prepared to help out this initiative in any way he can.

David Burns has been a consistent example of corporate responsibility in our community, offering lawn maintenance and snow clearing services to United Way year-round.

Thank you, David.