Letter to the Editor: “Doing Hard Better — Together”
By Francesca Dobbyn, Executive Director, United Way of Bruce Grey

As we look around our communities today, we cannot ignore the rising tide of challenges that echo — and in some ways surpass — the hardships we endured during the COVID-19 pandemic. The economic instability brought on by inflation through 2023 and 2024 has stretched families to their limits. At the same time, the housing crisis deepens, and the opioid epidemic continues to take a devastating toll on our neighbours, friends, and families.

At the United Way of Bruce Grey, we have many times stood shoulder to shoulder with our community through hard times. We continue to do so with the same unwavering commitment urgency and resolve we always have when things get hard.

We are responding with everything we’ve learned, everything we’ve built, and everything we know our community is capable of. We’ve done hard before. And we’ll do it again. This time, we are doing it smarter, stronger, and more united than ever. We call this: “Doing Hard Better.”

“Doing Hard Better” is more than a tag line — it’s our shared promise. It means rising to meet these difficult times with focus, compassion, and collective strength. It means supporting each other through the weight of  this new economic crisis and uncertainty not just with empathy, but with action, data and all that we’ve learned from other hard times.

We invite our community to join us — by making a donation, volunteering, advocacy, or simply checking in on someone who might need a little extra care. Every act of kindness matters. Every step forward counts.

While we are not launching a specific economic response fund at this time, we want to be clear: the need is real, and the need is now. Rather than focusing on a single issue or campaign, we are asking our community to support all things United Way — because your United Way supports all things your community needs. Your donation helps ensure we can respond where the need is greatest, whether it’s food insecurity, housing instability, mental health support, or frontline crisis response. It’s not about one fund, one agency, one initiative  — it’s about every neighbour.

You can make a donation at www.donatetoday.ca or by calling 519-376-1560, e-transfer to manager@unitedwaybg.com or by mail to United Way of Bruce Grey, 380 9^th street east Owen Sound ON N4K 1P1

Together, we can show what it truly means to do hard better — and help each other thrive, even in the most challenging times.

Sincerely,
Francesca Dobbyn
Executive Director