5TH annual ‘Paint the Town Red’ launches at Sam’s Place

Group shop with sign

PETERBOROUGH, ON – Today at Sam’s Place, Jim Russell CEO of United Way of Peterborough & District was joined by Campaign Chair Neil Morton, Campaign Cabinet members Terry Guiel (Downtown Business Improvement Area) Peterborough and Laura Crann (Ashburnham Realty)  and Sam’s Place owner Sam Sayer to announce the launch of the 5th annual Paint the Town Red event.

On Wednesday July 19th, participating restaurants will be donating 25% of their daily sales to support the work of United Way to build a better future for everyone. There is a 50% increase in participating restaurants bringing this year’s total to 32.

 

Says Morton, “The energy around this event and excitement about helping each other is what I love about this community. I encourage you to sit down with friends and family on July 19th, share a meal together and help to build an even stronger and deeper community connection.  While you’re at it, share your experience on social media using the hashtag #PaintPtboRed.”

 

Cabinet members Guiel and Crann expressed that supporting this event is a great start to their first year volunteering for the United Way Campaign. Laura added, “It’s been a blast to take pictures with the ‘spoon’ while talking to folks about the work of United Way.” Special thanks to Terry who spent his own time carving and painting this Paint the Town Red symbol.

 

Last year’s event raised over $10,000.00 bringing the total to over $45,000 since 2013. Sam’s Place has been part of the event every year and this year there will be a very special Paint the Town Red featured sandwich available. Sam Sayer stated, “Our community is very important to us at Sam’s Place and we’re proud to be supporting the community through United Way Peterborough.”

Russell ended proceedings by emphasizing the unparalleled energy and passion demonstrated by this year’s campaign chair. “Neil is absolute lightening in a bottle – you can feel it today and this augurs well for our 2017 Campaign.”

 

2017 Participating Restaurants

Amandala’s Charlotte Anne’s Kawartha Dairy (scooped cones) 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

Join our FaceBook Event page to receive up-to-date information and share with your friends!

Click here for an interactive map of all participating restaurants thanks to Kawartha NOW!

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For more information, please contact;

Jim Russell, CEO

United Way Peterborough & District

T: 705-742-8839

E: jrussell@uwpeterborough.ca

Sam Sayer of Sam's Place, holds her "Paint the Town Red" sandwich which will be available all day July 19th for the event!

Sam Sayer of Sam’s Place, holds her “Paint the Town Red” sandwich which will be available all day July 19th for the event!

group Group shop with sign sandwich board spoon group spoon and sign sandwich on spoon

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!

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