The Fort McMurray United Way recently announced that the organization has reached half of their fundraising goal of $8 million so far, but the agency still has a way to go in order to completely reach the ambitious goal that they have set. A press release sent out last Friday from United Way announced that they were slightly short of the 50% mark for the goal set this year, and there are still a few weeks left in the fundraising campaign. Campaign chairperson Marty Giles said “We are in good shape, but we have to keep the energy up until the last dollar comes in. The agencies are counting on us.”In the last week there have been a number of events held n Fort McMurray and the Wood Buffalo region to help with the fundraising goals set by the agency. There was an annual KD gala at the Centre of Hope, and the Suncor-Syncrude President’s Cup hockey game also help raise funds for the organization.

The Fort McMurray United Way press release about the fundraising campaign included a statement from the executive director of the United Way, Diane Shannon. The statement read “We are so grateful for the generosity we are witnessing, especially during these challenging times.” Just weeks ago the agency announced that they had received a much higher than expected number of funding requests from non profit organizations in the area. Approximately 32 different groups have requested funds, and the total amount of funding requested was around $7.5 million.