UPS pulls for a good cause

TORONTO — UPS Canada put their collective strengths to the test for a good cause last Saturday at the UPS Toronto Hub in Concord, Ont. throwing their weight into a truck-pull challenge to raise funds for the United Way.

Together, participants across the country raised a total of $8,200, with 75 percent of the proceeds going to the United Way in each of the regions that participated and the remaining going to the winners’ charity of choice.

A total of 22 teams of five people each participated in the Toronto event, raising between $250 and $500 per team in order to enter the event.

The UPS Truck Pull took place at the company’s
facilities all across Canada

Teams had the option to pull either a package car, weighing approximately 8,000 lbs, or partner with another team of five to pull a tractor-trailer weighing over 28,000 lbs.; The equivalent of about three adult elephants.

The majority of participants in the event were UPS Canada employees, with a few close friends and family to help pull their weight.

Using ropes, the teams were required to pull the vehicles 150 ft as fast as they could to secure the winning title. Surprisingly, in both the package-car pulls and the tractor-trailer pulls, the winning team turned out to be the UPS district staff, including some of the company’s top executives at 16.5 seconds and 15.13 seconds respectively.

“You would think sitting in front of a computer all day would leave these guys a bit weaker than some of the facility staff, in a competition like this,” said Janice Sherk, United Way chair and vice president of security at UPS Canada. “We’re happy and proud to say that they’re tougher than they look — and we were able to raise money for a great cause because of it!”

UPS’s Truck Pull events took place at the company’s facilities across Canada in several cities this September, including Vancouver, Winnipeg, Windsor, Toronto and Moncton. UPS has had a long-standing partnership with the United Way since 1992. Last year, UPS Canada contributed $1.165 million to United Way, making it a million dollar contributor for the seventh year in a row.