Image Credit: Curtis Goodrum / CFJC Today

By Curtis Goodrum

UNITED WAY BC BREAKFAST

Conference centre packed for United Way BC kickoff event

Sep 18, 2025 | 4:34 PM

KAMLOOPS – Thursday (Sept. 18th) is United Way BC Day, when unions, companies and non-profits get to see the impact their time and money have had on helping communities across the province. The Thompson-Nicola-Cariboo region alone raised over $800,000 last year.

The day kicked off with a breakfast celebrating the work that has been done across BC and the importance of donating to the charity.

“We love the work that we get to do within the community and within our towns, like our region. What you got to see this morning through the videos and the stories was just a glimpse of that. We do so much work and we hold so many different portfolios,” said Chelsea Ingram, a campaign manager with United Way BC.

Despite many issues charities are facing, the stories they create are inspiring.

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“There’s so much negativity in the world right now, so many things telling us that humanity is at this juncture, this terrible point. Yet we fill rooms like this with beautiful people who give back to the community, who are generous, who continue to show up and they change the lives of individuals,” said Katie Neustaeter, director of communications of United Way BC.

One of the many speakers at the event has been a huge benefactor of United Way BC’s programs.

They’ve had a huge impact on my life, making sure that I can feel confident in my abilities to just interact with people properly, because I get a lot of anxiety. Knowing that I can actually do my job and interact with people professionally,” said Letisha Cuthbert, a benefactor of United Way BC’s Future Leaders Program.

Her speech inspired many in the room and showed just how important the programs are.

“Having Letisha come and speak this morning was so beautiful. It’s like getting to see the success up on stage, being brave enough to speak to a room of 250 people that she doesn’t know. Knowing that she may have had some training, and she had the tools that were given to her through this future leadership program, which allowed her to get up and do that,” said Ingram.

United Way BC is supporting a variety of programs — so many that one of its large number of recipients didn’t realize how far its reach is.

“I didn’t realize how big of an impact they had. I actually worked with the Local Love Fund. I went to Chilliwack. That was amazing to hear that it’s very close-knit with and even my own community outside of Kamloops,” said Cuthbert.

This year, the organization’s priority is having enough funding to supply its many youth programs.