September 19, 2008
Purdue United Way Campaign begins
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"By making a donation to United Way, you are helping to create opportunities for a brighter future for others by focusing on the building blocks of a good life — education, income and health," says Roger Blalock, Purdue UW Campaign chair and senior associate athletics director. "An investment in United Way is an investment in this community."
The Purdue United Way goal of $725,000 is more than one-eighth of the community goal of $5 million. The community campaign theme is "Live United."
Team captains will now distribute pledge cards to employees in all West Lafayette campus departments. Cards can be returned to the team captains or sent via campus mail to Purdue United Way Gift Processing at Dauch Alumni Center (DAUC).
Contribu¬tions go to the 23 Lafayette-West Lafayette service agencies supported by the United Way of Greater Lafayette. Faculty and staff can designate their gifts for other area United Ways if they so choose.
"This year, we have the chance to give back even more to the community through a matching gift program with Eli Lilly Endowment," says Anne Washburn, director of Purdue United Way. "All new or increased gifts will be matched. So if you gave $100 last year and increase your gift to $150 this year, Eli Lilly will pitch in $50 for a total of $200 to help United Way initiatives."
Already, Purdue Vanguards and the Purdue University Retirees Association are leading the way for the Purdue United Way Campaign. As of Thursday, those groups have raised more than $268,000.
Vanguard givers are those who give at least $1,000, in part to cover the campaign's administrative expenses.
More information about how to donate is at the Purdue United Way site: www.purdue.edu/unitedway.
United Way auction
Faculty and staff can contribute to Purdue's United Way Campaign by participating in an online auction.
The auction, sponsored by Purdue's United Way student chairs, includes local artwork, Purdue sports and convocations packages, sports memorabilia and food. The auction can be found at PurdueUnitedWay.cmarket.com.
How to give to the campaign
Participating in the Purdue United Way Campaign through pledging is a simple and private matter set up as follows:
1. For purposes of the UW campaign, Purdue has 18 areas, each with volunteers serving as senior chair, junior chair or team captain. Those volunteers picked up pledge packets at the kickoff on Thursday and will begin distributing them to employees in their area.
2. Each employee considers a gift. Things to consider are stories of those helped by United Way agencies, the value of being involved, the nationally outstanding frugality of the local UW and its campaign, the benefit of each dollar given.
The pledge process is constructed to ensure privacy and an absence of coercion. Campaign volunteers do not see whether a returned pledge form contains a dollar figure or a zero.
3. Those who return a pledge form can pick up a 2008 United Way poster, which features Dauch Alumni Center.
4. Those making a pledge decide on method — payroll deduction; one-time direct payment; or quarterly, monthly or one-time billing.
5. Employees should put pledge forms into the provided envelopes before sending them in through campus mail or giving them to the team captain for forwarding.