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Pulling Together to Help in a Time of Need

Our region is a model for co-operation, collaboration and community. From barn-raisers to capital-raisers, the willingness to roll up our sleeves to tackle problems is part of who we are.

It was no surprise, then, that when the COVID-19 pandemic revealed shortcomings in the health care system, our tech leaders asked: “How can we help?” At Communitech, bringing people together for common purpose is our strength. Our Tech for Good ethos underpins everything we do. So, how do we apply “Tech for Good” to a global health crisis? It started in mid-April with a donation from a tech leader who wished to remain anonymous: $50,000 USD. No strings attached. Get the money to those who most need it. I asked our senior Communitech leadership group – informally known as The Squad – who needed help the most. We focused on those not safe at home, those without a home and those facing mental health challenges. We decided to build on this donation and appeal to members of the tech community – many of them impacted by the pandemic themselves – to help others. The This, Too, Will Pass fundraiser was born. The Squad canvassed our tech partners to raise enough to triple donations, and TD, FairVentures, Interac, Thomson Reuters, Rogers and Sonova stepped up. The KW Community Foundation agreed to receive the donations, issue tax receipts, and disburse the funds, through its newly created Communitech COVID-19 Response Fund. The proceeds would be shared among: Women’s Crisis Services of Waterloo Region; Sexual Assault Support Centre of Waterloo Region; Sanguen Health Centre (in support of Inner City Health Alliance); Carizon Family and Community Services; African Caribbean Black Network of Waterloo Region; The Working Centre (in support of St. John’s Kitchen); and YW Kitchener-Waterloo (in support of emergency shelters). All have at-risk clients stressed by the pandemic. With a goal to raise $195,000, the campaign launched on May 5.

We didn’t know how this was going to go. Local startups and scale-ups are also impacted by the pandemic. But with $50 here and $100 there, the community stepped up. By month’s end, we exceeded our goal of $195,000. With no more matching funds, I called Michael Litt from Vidyard, who wrote a cheque to match the extra donations. Our final total: $208,858. It has been gratifying to hear the response from the agencies we helped. Jennifer Hutton, CEO, Women’s Crisis Services of Waterloo Region, appreciates how our community supported the campaign. “We know home isn’t safe for everyone and domestic violence rates have increased by 30 per cent amidst COVID-19. . . This community support has helped provide therapeutic programming to shelter residents, which is greatly needed during this difficult time, to help them heal from trauma and abuse.”

And Sara Casselman, Executive Director of the Sexual Assault Support Centre of Waterloo Region, said their funds “came at a critical time for our Centre. In the post-Me Too era, our Centre has been flooded with calls for support like no other time in our 30-year history. Because of their gift of $40,756.60, we were able to increase capacity at our Centre by hiring additional staff, effectively removing survivors from our waitlist.”

This is not Communitech’s only pandemic response. We have collected PPE, helped businesses pivot into battling the pandemic and lobbied governments on behalf of this community. But This, Too, Will Pass showed that in one short month, the “how can we help” tech ecosystem can step up and help those who need it the most.

In this community, we can raise barns, we can raise funds, and we can raise spirits, too.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Iain Klugman

Iain Klugman is president and CEO of Communitech, a public-private innovation hub in Waterloo Region that supports a community of more than 1,400 companies – from startups to scale-ups to large global players.

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