United Way campaign goal: $1 million
Jody Todd Manly '90 (PhD), clinical director of the Mt. Hope Family Center, was one of several guest speakers at the River Campus United Way kickoff breakfast on February 15 in The Meliora. The center received nearly $350,000 in funding from the United Way last year.
By Tatiana Orlov '05
he University officially launched its 2005 United Way campaign in February with a breakfast for volunteers at both the Medical Center and on the River Campus. The goal is to raise $1 million, a total nearly met by last year's donations of more than $970,000. "With the generous support of University employees, the $1 million goal is one that will not only be met but surpassed," says Robert Allen, campaign coordinator.
Thousands of faculty, staff, and retirees last year pledged their support to the United Way and its 200 agencies that serve more than 650,000 people in the Rochester area. While the University boasts one of the highest donation-per-employee rates locally, only about 32 percent of employees participated in the 2004 campaign.
"There's a huge potential here to increase donations and exceed last year's goal. After all, it's not always about increasing the amount employees give, but increasing overall participation," Tom Hubbard '79S (MBA), cochair for the 2005 United Way of Greater Rochester campaign, told volunteers at the River Campus breakfast on February 15.
With the help of more than 500 volunteers, coordinators are working to increase awareness and participation with new incentives, giveaways, and donation options such as continuous pledge, which allows employees to automatically donate year after year without completing new pledge forms.
Another way to encourage support from employees, says Allen, is to remind them that the University is a direct recipient of United Way funding. In fact, "dollars back" to University programs, such as the Mt. Hope Family Center, the Children's Institute, and the Visiting Nurse Service, totaled more than $1.2 million dollars last year alone. In addition, more than 1,600 University employees and their families received assistance from United Way agencies.
Jody Todd Manly, clinical director of the Mt. Hope Family Center, says the funding the center receives each year is essential to sustaining many of its clinical programs. "The United Way helps us reach those who may not be served by any other agencies, and it allows us to reach them early in life, so that we can help set them on a pathway that leads to success."
"It is not about whether or not you will need a United Way program, it's about when," says Allen. "Giving generously not only helps your coworkers, friends, and community, but also assures that the day you and your family need the support of a United Way agency, that help will be available to you.
"With pledge packets on their way, we ask you to take pride in your community, the place you work and live. Support the campaign and give generously, knowing that 100 percent of your donation dollars will go directly to help those in need. Together we can meet our goal and ensure a better tomorrow for our community. In the end, what matters is you!"
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