Thanks to the efforts of UFCW Canada Local 1000A members at Maple Leaf Poultry in Toronto, seven families in the Toronto area had a happier holiday season. More than 600 members work at the poultry processing facility. When the call came in from a local community agency to help out some families in need with toys and financial support, the members at Maple Leaf didn’t hesitate to take up the cause.

On December 12, a bake sale and raffle raised $3,300 dollars for the seven families, on top of the dozens of toys donated by the members.

“The members here at just love to put their hands together and help,” says Maria Cabral, a longtime activist and sixteen-year veteran who along with co-worker Rosario Furtado helped organize the fundraiser. “Dozens of the workers made goods for the bake sale. Many others brought toys, and hundreds of members participated the day of the fundraiser. The company also helped by donating prizes for the raffle including a TV, a DVD player, and $150 in gift vouchers to be raffled off for fresh chicken.”

The holiday fundraiser was just the latest in the ongoing fundraising efforts by the Local 1000A members at Maple Leaf. In 2010 the members at Maple Leaf raised over $12,000 in total for Haiti earthquake relief, and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Canada.

Vol. XI No. 03 • January 17, 2011