October 22, 2009

Purdue United Way chair provides update on campaign

Generous donations have brought Purdue closer to its 2009  United Way goal, but there is still work to be done.

At a Purdue United Way meeting on Wednesday, campaign chair Dennis Depew reported that the University has raised $648,857 or nearly 89 percent of its goal.

"We are ahead of where we were last year at this time so we are so happy that Purdue is once again pulling through for this community," said Depew, dean of the College of Technology. "The agencies of United Way and the people they serve are counting on Purdue employees and retirees to help bridge the gap this year. We have so many hurting in our community. It is so uplifting to see those who are doing all right giving to those who are not."

Purdue's 2009 goal is $730,000, which goes toward the community goal of $5 million. The Purdue campaign theme this year is "United Starts with U."

Depew said there are 1,000 people who donated last year who have not sent in a donation for this year. If those people turn in their cards and give the same amount, that would add $146,253 to this year's campaign.

Depew reminded everyone about the matching gift program offered this year by the Eli Lilly Foundation. The foundation will match every new donation or increase in donation from 2008.

Team captains have distributed pledge cards to all faculty and staff, and those cards can be returned to the team captains or sent via campus mail to Purdue United Way Gift Processing at Dauch Alumni Center (DAUC).

If they choose to do so, individuals can designate their donation to a nearby county or a specific agency. This information is included in the pledge packets.

Purdue's campaign intends to celebrate success on Nov. 17, and all pledges received by Nov. 12 can count in the total announced at the celebration.

Information and updates on the campaign can be found at 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 https://www.cmarket.com/auction/AuctionHome.action?auctionId=87346088.