United Way is working with partners and front line community agencies to best support the GTA’s most vulnerable in challenging times.
March 20, 2020 – COVID-19 is putting our community’s most vulnerable people in an extremely challenging situation. Those who already face significant barriers, including poverty, homelessness and social isolation, need even more of our help during this time. As the largest investor in social services next to government, United Way is working closely with partners and its network of front-line agencies to meet immediate needs and ensure that no one gets left behind.
In response to COVID-19, United Way is:
- Offering flexible funding to United Way’s front-line community agencies in Peel Region, Toronto and York Region so they can work in new ways and ensure that the most vulnerable in our communities continue to have access to the critical supports they need, close to home.
- Partnering with the City of Toronto to connect United Way’s network of agencies to emergency response plans. TheCommunity Coordination Plan activates 10 community clusters by geography across Toronto neighbourhoods. Two additional clusters will convene Indigenous serving organizations and city wide agencies. These clusters will enable communication, coordination and resource sharing at the local level between community organizations, United Way, City of Toronto Councillors’ offices and the City of Toronto.
- Across the GTA, United Way is working with its network of over 270 agencies, the City of Toronto, Peel Region and York Region to identify and respond to the gaps, needs, trends and opportunities that may be emerging locally.
Community connections matter. Especially in times of crisis, research shows that the stronger the sense of connection — residents, agencies, government working together — the more resilient the community. Now more than ever, we need our social infrastructure, that invisible network of agencies people visit, call, rely on every day in neighbourhoods across our region. Thank you, to all the frontline staff and volunteers in United Way’s network of over 270 agencies across this region. They are working tirelessly to ensure that people who already face significant barriers of poverty, homelessness and social isolation get the help they need now.
United Way President and CEO Daniele Zanotti
United Way thanks the following partners for their incredible generosity in collectively kick-starting the Local Love Fund: The Bennett Family Foundation; BMO Financial Group; GE Healthcare; P&G Gives Back
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