A major donation to the United Way Centraide Windsor-Essex Chatham-Kent's annual fundraising campaign.
On Tuesday, Stellantis Canada announced that $746,756.24 has been raised by Unifor Locals 444, 195, 1498, and the retirees through its workplace fundraising campaign.
It is the largest donation to the campaign for the 2024 calendar year and will support the United Way's efforts to provide and support education-focused programs for local youth.
David Bellaire, plant manager at the Windsor Assembly Plant, announces a donation from the Stellantis Canada workplace fundraising campaign to the United Way. @LOCAL444UNIFOR @UnitedWayWECK @AM800CKLW pic.twitter.com/zIJoCYqeHB
— Rusty Thomson (@RustyThomson800) October 15, 2024
Lorraine Goddard, Chief Executive Officer at the United Way Centraide Windsor-Essex Chatham-Kent, says they have made a commitment to improve the academic outcomes for children, youth, and their families living in low-income.
"We know that in some neighbourhoods, 1-in-3 kids are growing up with low income. The research and data tell us that it has a significant impact on their academic performance," she says.
The donations will support education-focused programs that support youth throughout their formal schooling years.
United Way's On Track To Success program offers supports that wrap around a family and help youth graduate high school and go on to post-secondary education; students receive mentoring, tutoring, career learning opportunities, and financial assistance to attend post-secondary programs.
Goddard says this is the way they feel confident they can change the trajectory for these children for the future.
"This is about helping young people and their families to remove barriers so they can reduce the stress in their household, they can have healthy food to eat, they can keep the lights on in their home, and that children are provided with extra supports," she says.
David Bellaire, Plant Manager at Windsor Assembly Plant, says the employees at the plant give unconditionally.
"They know that there's a duty to give back to the plant and help those who need help. We just continuously prove that we can, and we understand what giving back to the community needs. This is proof positive of another thing the plant has done for the community," he says.
Tuesday's announcement took place at General Brock Public School on Sandwich Street in Windsor, one of the schools participating in the United Way's Ignite Academy, the first community-designed solution that aims to bolster literacy and math competencies.
The program operates after school four days a week, targeting students from grades 2–7. The participating schools are in priority neighbourhoods with the highest rates of childhood poverty.