CANTON — The United Way of Northern New York is celebrating its 100-year anniversary by hosting two fundraising events this fall. On Saturday, Sept. 18, and Saturday, Oct. 2, teams of 10 individuals will gather to pull a 55,000 pound, Renzi Foodservice semi-truck for the fastest time, all in the name of raising money for North Country communities.

Jamie Cox, Chief Executive Officer for the United Way of Northern New York, described the upcoming fundraisers.

“Our first event kicks off at SUNY Canton,” he said. “It’s really exciting that we’re going to have high school teams, college teams, businesses, first responders and county government employees competing to pull this giant semi! We’re handicapping the event by getting the bulk weight of each team, and multiplying it by the pull time. That will make every team competitive to win!” The top three teams will receive prizes. All proceeds go towards the United Way’s ALICE program, which is focused on helping local families who are employed that are struggling to make ends meet.

The Sept. 18 event will be held on SUNY Canton’s parking lot 7 from 8 a.m.-5 p.m.

Other attractions include live music, food trucks, a 50/50 raffle, and a static display area hosting large military, farm, aircraft, and first responder equipment. Admission to the event is free. Team registration price is $50 per person ($500 per team) or a special student price of $30 per person ($300 per team).

To register a team, visit https://www.unitedway-nny.org/truck-pull/

“We are thrilled to partner with the United Way of Northern New York on their premiere Truck Pull fundraiser. This event, hosted at SUNY Canton during our Family and Community Weekend, is going to be a highlight that our students, families, and our local community can all enjoy,” SUNY Canton Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students Courtney B. Bish said.

The Oct. 2 event will take place at the Watertown Fairgrounds and have a similar layout to the first event. “Grab your friends, family, co-workers and compete to raise funds for our North Country families,” Cox said. “This is going to be an event you won’t want to miss!”

Sponsors for both fundraising events currently include Northern Credit Union, SUNY Canton, Excellus, Carthage Area Hospital, SeaComm, Personalized Real Estate Solutions, Claxton-Hepburn Hospital, Samaritan Medical Center, Arconic, Griffith Energy, RBC Wealth Management, Arconic-Massena, Community Bank, Omnia Advanced Materials, and Kinney Drug Foundation. In Kind donations for both fundraising events are generously provided by Renzi Foodservice, SGT. Knots, Sam’s Club, and The Wolak Group.