The United Way Peterborough & District has raised $855,000 so far for its 2025-26 community campaign, which is just over half of the campaign’s ambitious $1.6 million goal.
United Way CEO Jim Russell shared the mid-campaign update on Friday (December 12), which was also the organization’s annual Peterborough Pajama Day, where community members and workplaces donate $5 to the United Way and wear their PJs or other comfy clothes for the day.
Events like Pajama Day contribute to the 2025-2026 campaign goal while also raising awareness of the rising demand for essential services provided by the United Way’s 20 local partner agencies in the Peterborough area, including housing and homelessness, food support, counselling, crisis intervention, and youth services.
“PJ Day is a lighthearted way for people to come together and show their United Way spirit,” Russell said in a media release. “It’s fun, it’s engaging, and it reminds us what we can achieve when we rally together. We are heartened by the incredible support, conversations, and energy we’ve seen on the campaign trail this year.”
After exceeding its ambitious fundraising goal of $1.5 million last year, the United Way increased this year’s goal by $100,000.
“This year, our goal is higher because the need is higher,” Russell explained. “We increased this year’s campaign goal by $100,000 because our 20 partner agencies are responding to unprecedented pressures, especially around homelessness, food insecurity, youth supports, and mental health. This is a moment for all of us to come together.”
Russell added that the United Way recognizes that people can feel financially stretched during the holidays, but a donation to the organization goes a long way by strengthening the entire social safety net for the community.
“This campaign has always been about neighbours helping neighbours,” said United Way campaign chair Paul Rellinger. “We’ve made meaningful progress, but now we’re asking the community to help us push across the finish line. Peterborough has a long history of stepping up, and I know we can do it again.”
According to the United Way, the $1.5 million raised during last year’s community campaign allows the organization’s partner agencies to deliver 266 programs and services to people in the city and county of Peterborough, including 15,013 nights of safe shelter for families and youth experiencing housing insecurity, 243,042 nutritious and culturally appropriate meals, snacks, and food boxes, and 6,472 support sessions to help individuals overcome barriers to employment and access legal and financial wellness resources.
“These numbers represent real people — families, seniors, and youth who needed someone in their corner,” Russell said. “And this year, those needs are only increasing.”
To make donations go further, the United Way has brought back its “double your difference” donation match challenge. Anonymous donors will match 100 per cent of donations of any amount made by those who did not donate to the United Way last year, and will also match increases of 10 per cent or more made by returning donors over the amount they donated last year.
“These matching dollars mean every gift goes further, especially right now,” Russell said. “If you’ve been waiting for the right moment to give, this is it.”
With just over three months left until the campaign concludes on March 31, the United Way is calling on individuals, workplaces, service clubs, and organizations across Peterborough and the County to help meet the $1.6 million goal.
Upcoming campaign events over the winter months include the ongoing monthly 50/50 draw, workplace and community fundraisers, and Peterborough Performs VI on February 26 at Showplace Performance Centre. The United Way notes that tickets for the 50/50 draw and Peterborough Performs also make purposeful holiday gifts.
“We have made meaningful progress, and for that we are deeply grateful,” Russell said. “And we are optimistic, because we know what this community can do when we all pull together to reach, and hopefully exceed, our goal so we can sustain the essential services people rely on. Every gift, at any level, moves us closer. Together, we can finish strong for Peterborough.”
Donations can be made online at give.unitedway.ca/donate/wpeter, by calling 705-742-8839, or in person at the United Way office at 277 Stewart Street in downtown Peterborough.
