5th Paint the Town Red event is a record breaking success!

Paint the Town Red Group photo

5TH ANNUAL ‘PAINT THE TOWN RED’ RECORD BREAKING SUCCESS
IN SUPPORT OF UNITED WAY

 PETERBOROUGH, ON – On Wednesday July 19th, hundreds of people dined out at 32 local restaurants who donated 25% of their daily sales to support the work of United Way Peterborough & District.  Today we are stoked to announce a record breaking success both in donations and community engagement.

The event raised just over $15,000 which is a 50% increase from last year coinciding with a 50% increase in participating restaurants. The donations came in from restaurants, individual donations from customers and our newly launched Text to Give program.

But Paint the Town Red raised more than donations, it also raised community connection. The true flavour of the event was exemplified by restaurants supporting each other, businesses encouraging folks to head out to eat, workplaces coordinating team meals and friendly rivalry to see who could eat at more restaurants, all to support everyone in our community.  The infamous Red Spoon toured the vicinity throughout the day and folks were clamouring for a spoon spotting, or even better, a spoon selfie!  You could watch the day unfold through your computer or cell phone as the community of Peterborough shared their photos and experiences on various social media platforms. By using the hashtag #PaintPtboRed so frequently it was trending on Twitter across Canada all day.  For most of the day it was in the top 3 and at one point it hit the #1 trending hashtag in the Country demonstrating the powerful force of our community at large.

“Our community is passionate, resilient, interdependent and the success of this year’s Paint the Town Red event is testament. Our restaurants and food are second to none in the Province. And once again we thank the entrepreneurial spirit of our restauranteurs and their commitment to building local economy while at the same time giving back to community.” beamed Jim Russell, CEO of United Way Peterborough & District.

We’d like to offer our overwhelming gratitude to the participating restaurants, the people who came out and dined and those who gave via external donations and to the many volunteers who made this event possible, in particular to Campaign Cabinet members Terry Guiel (Downtown Business Improvement Area) Peterborough and Laura Crann (Ashburnham Realty) who worked feverishly in the month leading up to the event.

The dollars raised in this event will be going right back into this community to support our 16 partner agencies in their work building a strong and healthy Peterborough & District for everyone.

 

Thank you to the 2017 Participating Restaurants

Amandala’s Charlotte Anne’s Kawartha Dairy Reggie’s Hot Grill
Ashburnham Ale House Curry Village Kettle Drums Riley’s Pub
BE Catering Dodrio La Hacienda Sam’s Place
Black Honey EC Catering Marty Moo’s Silk Roots Fusion
Brickhouse Fresh Dreams Natas Café Silver Bean
Brio Gusto Gerti’s Pita Pit Soupcon
By the Bridge Hobarts The Planet St. Veronus
Caffeina Island Cream Rare Gill House Village of Thai

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For more information, please contact;
Jim Russell, CEO
United Way Peterborough & District
T: 705-742-8839
E: jrussell@uwpeterborough.ca

Social Posts

🚚 Moving thousands of school supplies to fill more than 400 backpacks for local students is made easy thanks to the help of our wonderful friends @autoconnectsales 

✏️Thank you to Cheryl, Martin and the whole team for your support our of Backpacks for Success program. Your generosity makes a real difference in our community!
🎉 PTBO & COUNTY, SAVE THE DATE! 🎉

We’re kicking off something special. 85 years of United Way Peterborough & District and we want you to be there! 

Join us for our 2026 Campaign Launch, presented by Miskin Law [@miskinlaw] as we officially launch this year’s campaign and celebrate the incredible community that has carried the work of United Way forward for 85 years. ❤️

We’re especially excited to welcome 2026 Campaign Chair Tiffany Arcari [@_thetiffanyshow] whose leadership will help guide this year’s campaign, alongside Jason Seguya, our new CEO, as he joins our community for his first Campaign Launch in his new role. Let’s make it a special one😁📣!

📅 September 17, 2026
⏰ 12:00 - 1:30 [doors open at 11:30]
📍 Healthy Planet Arena

More details — including tickets — at the link🔗 in our bio!

85 years united. One community. A campaign to remember.
✨ Half the world is under 30. In Canada, that’s 35% of us.

Young people aren’t just the future, they’re changemakers right now. 💪

On #InternationalYouthDay, United Way Peterborouh & District celebrates their leadership, their courage, and their vision for a better world. 🌟💛
🎒🚗 What a day! We filled the Fords and our hearts @autoconnectsales

A HUGE thank you to everyone who came out to Fill the Fords on Saturday, donated supplies, volunteered, sponsored the event, grabbed a BBQ lunch courtesy of @kingstmarket, enjoyed some ice cream from @central_smith, and helped us celebrate the incredible generosity of our community.

We’re so grateful to Auto Connect Sales, our sponsors, community partners, volunteers, media friends, and every single person who helped make this day possible. Your support will help local students start the school year feeling prepared, confident, and ready to learn.

But we’re not done yet! 🎒

There’s still time to help. If you haven’t had a chance to donate, we’re collecting new backpacks and school supplies at the United Way Peterborough & District office and at participating community collection locations until THIS FRIDAY, August 14!

Every backpack, every box of crayons, every notebook and every donation helps us get closer to ensuring local students have the tools they need to succeed.

✨Comment “BACK TO SCHOOL” and we’ll send you the full list of participating businesses running supply drives.
Exciting News! 💫 The Reaching Home deadline has been extended!

Applicants now have until Wednesday, August 19 to submit your proposals.

Please keep in mind: 
👉 Applications will be reviewed based on alignment to the following community priorities:
• Creating, preserving, and enabling equitable access to housing
• Eviction prevention
• Outreach
👉 Funding covers the period October 1, 2026, to March 31, 2028
👉 New application deadline August 19, 2026

ℹ️ What is Reaching Home? It's a community-based program aimed at preventing and reducing homelessness across Canada. This program provides funding to communities to help them address their local homelessness needs.

Apply today at uwpeterborough.ca
We 💙 GM Financial!

A huge thank you to our friends at GM Financial for dropping off our first Backpacks for Success donations of the season! We’re so grateful for partnerships like these in our community. 

💡 As part of their workplace drive, employees received a work from home day in exchange for making a donation. What a creative way to encourage workplace giving!

Our Backpacks for Success supply drives wrap up on August 14, but there is still time to help! Join us on August 8 at Auto Connect Sales for our Fill the Fords event. We’ll be there from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. collecting school supplies, so stop by, say hello, and help us fill the Fords! 👋🎒
We’re growing, evolving, and looking for an experienced Director, Finance & Administration to join our Senior Leadership Team.

This is an opportunity to help shape the future of United Way Peterborough & District by providing strategic leadership across finance, administration, governance, and organizational operations, ensuring we remain a strong and sustainable partner for our community.

📍 Peterborough, ON
💼 Full-time
💰 Starting salary: $83,106; salary range up to $93,536
📅 Apply by August 14, 2026

Interested or know someone who’d be a great fit? Visit our website [link in bio] to learn more and apply, and please help us spread the word by sharing this opportunity within your networks.
❤️Won’t you be our neighbour? 

Stay tuned, @_thetiffanyshow will be sharing the full story (and her inspiring Campaign Chair speech) soon. You won’t want to miss this!

#CertifiedNeighbour #UnitedWayPTBO
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