LONDON, ONT. -- Old Oak Properties announced a donation of $100,000 to the United Way’s COVID-19 Community Response Fund on Friday.

‘We’re a local company,” says Greg Bierbaum, president of Old Oak Properties, a London-based property management company, “That’s why it’s really important to support the local community that supported us.”

United Way launched the Local Love in a Global Crisis Community Response Fund, after requests from corporations, community leaders and individual donors came flooding in, asking how they could help.

To date, United Way Elgin Middlesex has facilitated more than $1 million in COVID-19 recovery efforts from government grants, charitable giving and future pledges.

Bierbaum says he is leading by example and hopes other corporations will step up for the community’s most vulnerable.

“When people see good things happening,” Bierbaum says, “they want to do good things too.”

President at United Way Elgin Middlesex, Kelly Ziegner, says United Way will start flowing money to community service agencies locally as early as next week.

“As we care for our families and thosecloset to us, we see many in our community who simply don’t have a support system around them,” says Ziegner.

“Old Oak’s generous donation will help United Way quickly get money out the door and into the community so that those who are most vulnerable do not get pushed further into the margins during the crisis.”

United Way Elgin Middlesex is working in partnership with London Community Foundation, the City of London and the municipalities of Elgin and Middlesex to mobilize funds.