United Way campaign kicks off Nov. 14
Princeton NJ — This fall, Princeton will once again support the United Way of Greater Mercer County's annual fundraising campaign. The University's drive will take place from Wednesday, Nov. 14, through Wednesday, Dec. 5.
Last year, faculty, staff and retirees contributed $201,286.79. These funds helped the United Way to provide much-needed relief to people in the local community over the past year.
The theme for the 2007 United Way Campaign is "What Matters." This year, United Way funding is based on three focus areas: helping children and youth succeed; fostering self-sufficiency; and caring for seniors and people with disabilities. United Way programs are designed to create lasting change by preventing problems from happening in the first place.
All donations will be distributed to United Way programs in Mercer County or employees' home communities, or to other health and human services agencies that are designated by individual donors. This year's campus campaign is co-chaired by David Dobkin, dean of the faculty, and Lianne Sullivan-Crowley, vice president for human resources. Maria Papadakis, assistant to the vice president, is the campaign coordinator.
"The success of Princeton's campaign comes from the generosity of our employees and retirees and from the involvement and hard work of volunteers in each department," said Papadakis. "The funds raised by the University's community have helped countless individuals and families in our area."
"The United Way Campaign provides employees with options about how they can contribute and a variety of charitable organizations that benefit from their donations," added Sullivan-Crowley. "The generosity of Princeton's staff and faculty demonstrates the strong ties we have to our local communities and exemplifies our commitment to service, particularly for those in need."
The University will contribute 15 cents per dollar for all gifts made by payroll deduction. For all other types of donations, the University will contribute 10 cents per dollar.
Donors can choose to make general or specific contributions. They can designate their donation to be distributed among all programs within the United Way of Greater Mercer County. With a minimum contribution of $52, they can allocate it to a United Way agency in their home community, to any specific program supported by the United Way or to any eligible charitable health or human care organization not supported by the United Way. While the historic focus of the United Way is on home communities, it also is possible to direct gifts to agencies that provide health or human care in other countries.
As an incentive to giving, the first 200 people who make a United Way donation will receive two free tickets to the Princeton-Cornell basketball game at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 8, in Jadwin Gymnasium.
This year, pledge cards will be distributed to each employee by campus mail around Nov. 12. United Way campaign volunteers will be available within their departments to answer questions and provide additional information. Faculty and staff members and retirees who have questions or need another pledge card should contact their departmental campaign volunteer, check the United Way home page at www.princeton.edu/pr/uw/, or contact Papadakis at 258-8032 or mpapadak@princeton.edu. Employees of the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory should contact the lab's United Way campaign chair, Rosemarie Fuchs-Smith, at 243-2416 or rfuchs@pppl.gov.
