
We’re proud to be part of this community, and giving back is one way we show our support for neighbours in need. We share United Way’s passion for building a community where everyone has a fair shot at a great life.”
Brandon MacKinnon
LiUNA Local 1059, business manager
LiUNA Local 1059 aced it for United Way Elgin Middlesex at its annual charity golf tournaments this summer.
From scratch golfers to duffers, hundreds of union members, signatory employers and industry partners drove hard to raise an impressive $200,000 — a new record that now makes Local 1059’s 23-year-old event the largest third-party fundraiser for United Way in the region.
“We’re proud to be part of this community, and giving back is one way we show our support for neighbours in need,” said Brandon MacKinnon, LiUNA Local 1059’s business manager. “We share United Way’s passion for building a community where everyone has a fair shot at a great life.”
The two-day tournament at FireRock Golf Club is part of a long-standing partnership between Labour and United Way. It included more than 300 Local 1059 members and partners from across Southwestern Ontario’s construction and service sectors.
This year’s donation, announced in September, brings Local 1059’s cumulative giving total to almost $2 million. Participants on the course and supporters behind the scenes this year raised $40,000 more than in 2022.
“What’s really awesome,” said United Way Elgin Middlesex president and CEO Kelly Ziegner, “is that their focus is not only on making it fun for participants but on making it meaningful for the broader community.
“Their generosity may be ‘par for the course’ for them, but we consider it an extraordinary show of solidarity with all the people across our region who will benefit this year from United Way-supported programs and services,” Ziegner said.
United Way Elgin Middlesex is the largest non-government funder of social services in the region and supports 52 community-based programs and services that reduce and prevent poverty, provide basic needs, and provide housing stability.
Local 1059 is already preparing to best its new record in 2024. Due to popular demand, the union will host a third tournament next summer.
“The work United Way does in our community is important,” MacKinnon said. “We’re looking forward to bolstering once again our support for integral social services in the region.”