Why I give

Maria Cator – A Leader of the Way

I decided to become a leader for a couple of different reasons:

The first one is a little self serving. My husband and I can easily spend $80 a month on one dinner out and since I am working on eating healthier, I think this is a small sacrifice.

There are so many young people today that are hurting for so many reasons. Addiction is reality that a lot of families are dealing with and it can happen to any of us. I had the opportunity to tour a couple of the United Way agencies, one of them being the Lighthouse Program for Grieving Children. I have never forgotten one of the statements the coordinator of the this program said "children who suffer a loss early in life and don't receive counseling have a much higher chance of substance abuse problems later." I know this agency and many of the other agencies have waiting lists.

Also, being a support staff member, I was in the unfortunate position of being on strike in September, and it has been a challenge to catch up, but at the end of the day I feel very fortunate. I receive a paycheck every 2 weeks, and am able to go the grocery store and have dinner on the table every night for my family.

When you look at the list of agencies and really read and think of the people they are helping, each one of us probably knows of at least one person in our lives that may have, or could access one of the agencies that is funded by United Way for assistance at some point. So imagine the impact if each person at Sheridan gave $5 per pay, what a difference we at Sheridan could make in our community.

I am just an average working person. It took me 5 minutes to do the online pledge and I would challenge all Sheridan employees to pledge $5 per pay.

If you would like to donate to United Way of Oakville, please contact us at 905-845-5571 or donate online at www.uwoakville.org/donate