United Way launches 2022-2023 campaign

UVic’s campaign to support United Way Southern Vancouver Island (SVI) launches this month, and the UVic campaign committee is busy working on various initiatives and a series of events throughout the year to engage the campus community both "inside and outside of Ring Road!"

“The UVic United Way campaign is a celebration of how we can come together to help our community, and we would like to thank all of our current donors and supporters,” say Trevor Sanderson and Mauricio Garcia-Barrera, co-chairs of the UVic 2022-2023 campaign.They remind us that, “monthly payroll contributions and one-time donations are meaningful ways we can make a tangible, positive impact for some of our own neighbours in difficult times.”

This year’s United Way campaign supports four areas of action: seniors; families; diversity, equity and inclusion; and mental health and addictions. United Way SVI funds more than 180 programs that serve 125,000 people in our local region.

Regular payroll donations can make a big difference – for example:

• For $20 a month, you can provide an individual struggling with a mental-health challenge 20 hours of peer support and a personalized mental-health crisis plan.
• For $50 a month, you can provide 24 limited-income seniors with a volunteer visitor to assist them with yard work and household maintenance.
• For $50 a month, you can provide a family with six nutritious food hampers to help them combat food insecurity.   
• For $100 a month, you can provide a culturally caring counselling session each month for an Indigenous youth struggling with mental-health challenges.

It’s easy to set up payroll donations online at https://pledge.uwsvi.ca/uvic. New donors are eligible for great prizes as well!

This year, our goal is to raise $230,000 for United Way SVI, and expand the UVic donor pool. We encourage our community of faculty, staff, administrators, retirees, alumni and students to come together to show our local love and community spirit.

UVic can take pride that since 1994, we have raised more than $5.5 million in donations through the amazing efforts of the UVic community. We're proud that last year, we ranked number one for the most money raised of any campaign in the region!

Watch for upcoming events, including the UVic Artisans Market on Nov. 30 and the return of the Plasma Car Races in February—we would love to see you there. If you’re interested in volunteering or learning more, please email unitedway@uvic.ca.

Learn more about the campaign at www.uvic.ca/unitedway