This fall, Princeton once again will support the United Way of Greater Mercer County’s annual fundraising campaign. The University’s drive will take place from Wednesday, Nov. 12, through Wednesday, Dec. 3.

Last year, faculty, staff and retirees contributed $208,409.72. These funds helped the United Way to provide relief to people in the local community over the past year.

The theme for the 2008 United Way Campaign is “Live United.” This year, United Way funding is based on three focus areas: helping children and youth achieve their potential through education; helping families become financially stable and independent; and improving health 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. Zia Bartley, diversity and events management specialist in human resources, is the campaign coordinator.

“This campaign is successful because of the dedication and generosity of our employees and retirees plus the departmental volunteers who work hard on the United Way’s behalf,” said Bartley. “The funds donated by the University’s community have provided much-needed aid to individuals and families in our area.”

“In these hard economic times the United Way campaign is more important than ever, and the Princeton community plays a critical role,” added Sullivan-Crowley. “The generosity of Princeton’s staff and faculty demonstrates the strong ties we have to helping our local communities and exemplifies our commitment to service during a time of need.”

The University will contribute 15 cents per dollar for gifts made by payroll deduction. For 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 give, the first 200 employees who make a donation will be entered into a drawing for a new digital camera. Two winners will be randomly selected. Two free tickets to the Princeton-Yale men’s basketball game in Jadwin Gymnasium at 6 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 28, also are available to the first 200 employees and retirees who return their pledge cards.

This year, pledge cards will be distributed to each employee by campus mail around Nov. 10. 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 Zia Bartley at 258-9149 or zbartley@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.