By Jack Brittle, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
On September 13, the United Way Halton and Hamilton (UWHH) will host its seventh annual Plane Pull at the Hamilton Airport. The event is sponsored by UPS.
During the event, community members will compete in teams of 15 to pull one of two 200,000-pound planes 50 feet across the tarmac in the fastest time possible. Prizes will be awarded to the top three teams for each plane.
According to a press release, “To take part, each team is asked to raise a minimum of $1,500, all going toward United Way Halton and Hamilton’s fundraising goal.”
The Plane Pull will formally kick off UWHH’s 2025–2026 campaign. They aim to raise $200,000 from the event, which will go to the 124 programs that the UWHH supports, through 76 different agency partners.
As of September 3, they had already raised $150,000; at the time of publication, their $200,000 goal had already been surpassed.
UWHH will also reveal their community-wide goal for the campaign at the event.
Kristen Jacob, vice president of marketing and communications for UWHH, said this year’s Plane Pull will be the charity’s biggest yet.
“This year, with our partners at UPS, we’ve actually got two 200,000-pound aircraft that we’re able to pull on the tarmac,” Jacob said. “That enabled us to have more teams be able to participate, because what we were finding over the years was that the event was selling out, in terms of the number of teams that we were able to have.”
Jacob said that they have almost a hundred teams signed up so far, up from last year’s 63.
“We’ve grown significantly, which is amazing, [because it’s] bringing in even more fundraising for the community programs, which is what we’re looking to support through the entire event,” Jacob said.
Jacob said that all of the agencies that UWHH supports are experiencing surges in demand.
“Seventy percent of the agency partners that we work with have indicated that the increased demand is getting higher and higher,” Jacob said. “Of the 124 different programs, half have wait lists right now.”
Jacob said that expanding access to programs that help people is what drives UWHH to keep raising more money.
“We have this saying at our workplace, which is, ‘We wish we didn’t have to exist,’” Jacob said. “We wish there was no need for United Way or any of the agency partners that we work with. That’s always our goal. But the reality looks very different, and we know that there are so many people in the community who need our help and our support, and we want to make sure that those programs are there for them when they need them.”
Jacob also said that the event is designed to be for all ages, and will include a “Kids’ Pull,” where those 12 and under can pull a smaller Cessna aircraft.
“All throughout the event, we’ve really embedded a lot of family-friendly activities,” Jacob said. “We’ve got a giant kids’ area with play spaces. This year, we’re doing an indoor play centre for the children, so it’s nice and shaded.”
There will also be a bouncy castle, a face-painting station, and nine food trucks parked at the event.
“It’s just a great atmosphere,” Jacob said. “A lot of entertainment, just getting everyone in the community really hyped up for the campaign launch.”
Jacob spoke about the exposure that the event provides to the United Way.
“There’s so much that United Way does, and we find a lot of times people don’t always know what that is,” Jacob said. “They know who we are, but they don’t always know what we do. So this event really helps us get connected with the community, and gives us a chance to be out there educating everyone on who we are, what we do, and the impact that we have.”
For more information, click here; to donate to an individual, team, or directly to the Plane Pull event, click here.
