Changing lives in changing times

For more than 20 years, United Way supporters have helped thousands of people in need through our Tools for School and Coats for Kids & Families programs.

Your support has meant full backpacks, warm hands, and ensured those who accessed those supports were met with dignity and compassion. We are so grateful that the Alberta Capital Region continually step up for those in need through our United Way movement.

Our United Way’s commitment to creating long-lasting meaningful impact is at the heart of every decision we make. This promise has led us to make the difficult decision to close our InKind Exchange (IKE) warehouse and retire Tools for School and Coats for Kids and Families, effective June 30, 2025.­

We are so proud of the impact our United Way supporters have had in our region though these programs. We didn’t make this decision lightly, but the current warehouse model requires significant staff time and financial investment. The closure of IKE allows United Way to better direct our funding towards access to services in our community.

When IKE was opened 20 years ago, United Way was a leader in creating a model that helped agencies meet their participants need for tangible items. This innovation has inspired action across our community, and we now see winter gear and school supply drives happening throughout the Capital Region in many forms.

We know that this closure will impact people who rely on United Way and our partners to help them access school supplies and warm winter wear. Our United Way is working closely with program sponsors Staples and Page the Cleaner to provide interim solutions to meet the need in community impacted by the closure of IKE.­­

Staples continues to support success in school

Over the past 20 years, Staples has played a pivotal role in expanding United Way of the Alberta Capital Region’s Tools for School program through their ambassadorship and support, and our mutual commitment to children and families remains strong.

During their annual School Supply Drive from July to September, Staples retail locations across the Capital Region accept point-of-sale donations and serve as official collection sites for donations of in-kind school supplies. Additionally, Staples provides supplies purchased by United Way at cost or deep discounts, maximizing the impact of donated funds.

Through these efforts, Staples has ensured that children across the region have the necessary tools to succeed in school. Together, we’re creating solutions to continue meeting the need for backpacks and school supplies.

United Way is connecting school division partners with Staples to ensure the most vulnerable students in our community can continue receiving support.

Community members who want to ensure students have the supplies they need to thrive can continue to donate at the tills of their local Staples store in August and September, during the annual School Supply Drive.

Our staff can also guide organizations through their own backpack build, provide access to discounted supplies from Staples, and find a school or agency to donate these items.

If you would like to continue to support United Way in eliminating barriers to educational success, please consider donating to All in for Youth to help local youth and their families thrive. When you donate before June 20 your impact will be doubled thanks to EPCOR’s generous match.

Page the Cleaner will help meet the need for warm winter wear

Page the Cleaner has been an incredible supporter of our Coats for Kids & Families program for many years. We are so grateful for their unwavering commitment and generosity to folks in the Alberta Capital Region. Not only did Page the Cleaner host convenient drop off locations for winter wear, they also generously donated dry-cleaning services for thousands of items every year. This generosity ensured people in need received items that were clean and functional.

While United Way will no longer host product drives or distribute items from a warehouse, we remain committed to helping individuals and families stay warm.

Our longtime partnership with Page the Cleaner will continue to ensure families can access clean, warm winter wear through local agencies. Our United Way team will also maintain a list of our funded partner agencies who need warm winter wear and can redirect in-kind donations to them when contacted by our supporters.

Volunteer opportunities will lift up front-line agency partners

While these specific programs are changing, our commitment to meaningful community engagement remains stronger than ever.

Our United Way relies on the generosity and dedication of hundreds of people working together to lift up our community. Over the last 20 years, Days of Caring volunteers have packed thousands of backpacks, hygiene kits, coats, and The Kid Kit®. Everyone who has come through IKE has made a difference in the lives of thousands of their neighbours: one coat, backpack, or kit at a time.

With the closure of IKE, our volunteer opportunities will also be evolving. United Way is working with agency partners and the caring individuals and organizations to find alternative volunteer opportunities that will highlight the incredible work that our funded partners do in community.

Taking our next steps together

To ensure that we continue to address immediate community needs as well as tackle complex social issues, our approach evolves over time.

The decision to close IKE will allow our United Way to deepen our work as a convener and navigator in the community, driving change at a systems level. As we embark on this new chapter, we look forward to the opportunities to engage with our community and partners in new and innovative ways.

While the warehouse model may no longer be a financially sustainable choice, United Way is so proud of what we have accomplished together through Tools for School and Coats for Kids & Families. Because of supporters like you, thousands of people across the Edmonton region received help when they needed it the most.

Through these changing times, United Way needs your support more than ever. Together, we can ensure reliable access to services in our community are there when people reach out for help.

Let’s keep changing lives together.