The United Way of Windsor Essex is setting the bar high again for the 2017 fundraising campaign.
Launched at the Caboto Club with the theme "Together We Fight, Together We Win" a target of $7.5-million has been set.
This year's campaign chair is TD Bank District Vice President Eric Griggs.
"We know [there are] 4,000 youth that live below the poverty line in Windsor-Essex and that $2.5-million is what it would cost for us to develop the programming and the right level of support to bring those people and those youth out of poverty," says Griggs.
He says they'll look for the usual support from payroll deductions as well as new donors.
2017 United Way Campaign Chair Eric Griggs with CEO Lorraine Goddard (by AM800's Peter Langille)
United Way CEO Lorraine Goddard says their target is to bring the high number of youth in poverty to a better place.
"What would it take to really help lift up the kids who are growing up economically disadvantaged, create opportunities for them to be able to have that upward mobility and be really successful adults that are self sufficient," says Goddard.
Goddard says helping those young people be successful in education is the key to improving their future.
The 2015 and 2016 campaign's also saw the fundraising goal at $7.5-million after being set at $5.2-million in 2016.
For more information, click here.