COVID-19 Community Response

United Way Guelph Wellington Dufferin sprang into action upon the announcement of the pandemic to help our community receive the support it needed in a time of crisis.

Local Love In A Global Crisis

On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the novel coronavirus outbreak a global pandemic. On that day, everything changed.

As the virus started to spread to our local communities, it was clear that COVID-19 was going to impact us in ways that we were not prepared for. Many would need extra support including seniors, children, families, those who did not have a place to call home, and others who would find themselves navigating support for the first time. Front-line agencies would need to shift the way services were delivered – quickly.

At United Way, we knew that we were in the best position to mobilize the community and bring together all those who wanted to help – corporate partners, community members, and the social services sector.

  • March 19, 2020

    We launched the COVID-19 Community Response Fund (Local Love In A Global Crisis) to help with coordination efforts and raise funds for those most vulnerable. This Fund would ensure that help was available when it was needed and it would assist our frontline agencies in responding as quickly and efficiently as possible.

  • March 30, 2020

    United Way partnered with the Guelph Community Foundation to combine our efforts and maximize our impact with the COVID-19 Community Response Fund. Together, we would ensure even more support. We are extremely proud of this newly forged partnership and look forward to working together on future projects that benefit our community.

  • May 2020

    The Government of Canada decided to provide further emergency funding through the Emergency Community Response Fund, and entrusted United Way as one of the key partners to handle the rapid distribution of those funds. This provided additional dollars to ensure those most vulnerable to the impacts of the pandemic were being supported. We were truly grateful for the opportunity to support our community in this way.

COVID-19 Community Response Fund Report

Read more about our COVID-19 response, including the impact of the COVID-19 Community Response Fund and the Emergency Community Response Fund.