Campaign Update #8

United Way campaign celebrates success

President Nannerl O. Keohane thanked the Duke co-chairs for the University's 2000 Triangle United Way campaign -- Patricia Meadows, Judith Ruderman and Dan Rodas -- and more than 80 other volunteers for their efforts at a luncheon on November 8th in the Bryan Center. Contributions from campus and hospital employees topped $1 million this fall, and are expected to reach the $1.1 million goal as late pledge sheets and donations continue to be tallied, said Ruderman, vice provost for academic and administrative services.

Duke also set records this fall for overall employee participation -- 22 percent -- and the number of campaign volunteers, which topped 800. "We are indeed grateful," Keohane told the volunteers. "I think of this as love at work." Event organizers also announced the co-chairs for Duke's 2001 Triangle United Way effort: Rafael Rodriguez, associate chief information officer, MCIS; Deborah Roth, chief operating officer, Duke Clinical Research Institute; and Richard White, director of the Sarah P. Duke Gardens and former dean of the Trinity College of Arts & Sciences.

Campaign Update #7

United Way campaign nudges goal

Duke has raised more than a million dollars for this year's Triangle United Way campaign but still needs about $50,000 to reach the $1.1 million goal. Employees can still participate -- and qualify for the last drawing on Nov. 8 -- by turning in their pledge forms immediately. Two of the prizes include a Duke recreation membership and a set of Carolina Hockey tickets for Sunday, Nov. 26. Employees can drop off pledge cards at any of the following drop off locations:

Room 105 Bio-Sciences Building (Caroline Usher's office)
Room 5242 Duke North
Room 5243 Duke North
Room 1290 Duke South, (See Angela Jones)
Room 1151, Duke South (Scott Gibson's office)
203 Allen Building (Blue box in lobby)
North Pavilion, 7th floor lobby

Campaign Update #6
10/13/00

United Way campaign nears goal

As of Friday, (Oct. 13) Duke's United Way campaign had raised $1,009,290, or 92 percent of the $1.1 million goal. Co-chairs Patricia Meadows, Dan Rodas and Judith Ruderman say they are optimistic they will reach the target if people continue sending in their pledge forms.

"We are so close to our campaign goal!" Ruderman said."I hope that in the coming week or so we will reach and even exceed it as pledges continue to come in. The generosity of Duke employees is striking and gratifying; it makes everyone's hard work on the campaign worthwhile when we see that our Duke community is so responsive to the needs of the community at large."

Organizers attributed the good showing - a record 20 percent of the campus community has donated - to a major increase in the number of campaign volunteers.

Steve Woody, chief information officer at Duke Clinical Research Institute, said he donated for the first time largely because of being personally contacted by Rafael Rodriguez, associate chief information officer for the Office of Information Technology and a campaign vice-chair.

"I think the big part for me is that Duke has been just great to me and this was a way I felt I could help out," said Woody, who routed his United Way donation to Wake County, where he lives. It didn't hurt that Woody's good will resulted in a year's free parking in the United Way raffles, one of dozens of donated prizes. "It shows anyone can win," he said.

Pledge forms can be dropped off at various locations through Oct. 31 or by mailing them through campus mail to Box 90931. President Keohane and Dr. Ralph Snyderman will thank campaign volunteers at noon on Nov. 8 at the Van Canon room in the Bryan Center. Lunch will be served between 11:30 and 1:30. For more information, call 684-3710.

Campaign Update #5
9/29/00

Employee benefits from United Way in crisis and in daily life

Hilary Anne Lincoln (above) knows firsthand about the impact of the Triangle United Way and its member agencies.

In 1992, when fire destroyed her Hillsborough home, the local American Red Cross chapter stepped in to find immediate lodging and clothing for her family.

And it was through her work at the Cued Speed Center in Raleigh that Lincoln,who joined Duke's Human Resources department in January, honed her ability to communicate in both the hearing and non-hearing communities.

"I am seriously hearing impaired," Lincoln, told more than 40 Alumni Affairs and University Development employees gathered at a Duke United Way campaign event last week in the Alumni House. "The Cued Speech Center enabled me to become a productive part of the work force here at Duke University. Otherwise, I'd probably be doing some sort of menial back-office job. Or maybe flipping hamburgers."

Almost everyone has heard of the American Red Cross and a number of the other high-profile organizations which receive United Way funding and help individuals in well-publicized ways, said Lincoln, the daughter of the late religion scholar and Duke professor C. Eric Lincoln. But United Way contributions also benefit a host of smaller, quieter agencies - like the Cued Speech Center - that do their part each day to improve the lives of Triangle residents.

"This is the very first time I've ever done anything like this," Lincoln told her fellow employees gathered in the crowded room. "I hope it helps you realize just how important the work you're doing with United Way is."

The event, which was held a day after the kickoff for this year's Duke United Way campaign, was hosted by Laney Funderburk, associate vice president of alumni affairs and development.

Blossom Gardner, program coordinator for alumni and development records, introduced Lincoln. "Her experience so astounded me that I wanted everybody else to hear it," Gardner said. "The Cued Speech Center is something I probably wouldn't have known about giving to or even known about."

The fund-raising goal for this year's campus United Way campaign, which runs through Oct. 13, is $1.1 million, the highest-ever target, said Peter Vaughn, director of communications and donor relations for university development. In addition, campaign organizers are aiming for a 25 percent participation rate among campus and hospital employees.

Campaign Update #4
9/14/00

United Way posters feature Duke people

Eight-year-old Terry, the young son of Beatrice Chestnutt, goes daily to the Salvation Army Boys and Girls Club. Diane Dunn turns to the ARC of Durham County for caregivers for Scott, her autistic teenager. Tom Robinson is a big fan of the American Red Cross's disaster relief and blood donation programs.

All these Duke employees share something in common: They benefit from or support Triangle United Way agencies and they've participated, along with five others, in a new poster campaign to let their colleagues know why. More than 600 blue and gold posters have been hung around campus.

Chestnutt, who works in the computer science department, said she has welcomed the opportunity to clear up some misconceptions about United Way agencies.

"I'm getting a lot of reaction," said Chestnutt, who is pictured with Terry leaning protectively over her shoulder. "People were kind of curious about why my husband and I send Terry to the Boys Club camp. I tell them it's not just for poverty stricken children, it's for everyone. "

Volunteers in the Duke United Way campaign will meet the eight "poster employees" Wednesday, Sept. 20, at an 8 a.m. kickoff ceremony in the Duke Clinics Food Court. Campaign volunteers will pick up their materials and pledge packets. President Nannerl Keohane and Dr. Ralph Snyderman will speak.

The campaign will run from Sept. 20 through Oct. 13. The university goal is to raise a record $1.1 million for organizations such as the YMCA, the Durham County Literacy Council, the Orange Durham Coalition for Battered Women, Meals on Wheels of Wake County and the Chapel Hill Senior Center. idea for a personalized Duke poster campaign came from a Duke steering committee meeting. University photographer Jimmy Wallace shot the portraits. Laurie Smithwick '91 designed the posters.

"Sooner or later every single one of us at Duke is likely to be served in some way by a United Way agency -- whether it's Hospice or day care or a blood transfusion," said Georgann Eubanks, assistant director of Continuing Education and a steering committee volunteer. "The poster campaign puts a face on this reality: the United Way is about all of us."
To see the Duke staff featured on the United Way posters, click here.

Campaign Update #3
9/1/00

Duke encourages Triangle United Way to expand its anti-discrimination policies

By Susan Kauffman

As Duke prepares to launch its largest United Way campaign ever, organizers hope that a national controversy involving the Boy Scouts of America won't hurt their efforts to raise money for local charitable organizations.

Two months ago, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Boy Scouts have a constitutional right to exclude gays. Since then, a number of corporations, United Ways and government organizations across the nation have withdrawn financial support. Members of Duke University's Task Force on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Matters sent a letter to university administrators on Aug. 15 requesting them to ask the local United Way to cease support of the Boy Scouts.

"Duke's non-discrimination policy states that the university will not support discrimination based on sexual orientation," wrote Laura Lewis-Tuffin, the task force chair. "The United Way organization has stated that they do not financially support organizations that discriminate. However, their current policy of raising funds for the Boy Scouts of America contradicts this, as the Boy Scouts of America have publicly stated that they do not allow homosexual boys to join the scouts or to occupy leadership positions."

Last week, the board of the Triangle United Way, the umbrella United Way agency for Wake, Orange and Durham Counties, voted to expand its own personnel policy to forbid discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation when hiring staff members, recruiting volunteers and serving clients.

It also recommended that United Way member agencies, such as the Occoneechee Council of the Boy Scouts of America, adopt the same policy. After hearing comments on both sides, the board stopped short of making it a requirement to receive funding.

John F. Burness, senior vice president for public and government affairs at Duke, spoke before the vote to urge the Triangle United Way to influence the national organization to change its policy.

"He spoke passionately about the inclusion of homosexuals and gays and of taking a leadership position on this issue," said Tom Dugard, president of the Triangle United Way. "At the end of the day, we decided to set as best standards the inclusion of gays but not to make it a minimum standard."

The highly charged issue has divided his volunteers, Dugard said. "We have funded the Scouts for over 40 years and they have served our youth extremely well. But you can not eliminate people by a class; you shouldn't do it."

The Occoneechee Scouts, which serves more than 19,000 households in 12 counties in North Carolina, is a major recipient of Triangle United Way funds. United Ways provide about 30 percent of their funding, more than twice the national average, said Tom Dugger, scout executive.

Last year they received about $313,000 in general allocations from the Triangle United Way and more than $113,000 from people who designated them.

A few gay leaders at Duke said they were satisfied with the university's efforts and the Triangle United Way decision - at least for now. John Younger, an openly gay professor who earned an Eagle Scout badge, said he is optimistic, that in time, the Boy Scouts will change its stance.

"There's no reason to cripple the organization," Younger said.

A Duke student who is a former Boy Scout, said he regretted the national board's exclusionary stance but would not want to see United Way funding cease.

"I'm an almost-Eagle Scout," said Jonathan Bitter, 17, who will received his badge this fall. "I support what the Scouts does in other areas - forming troops in urban areas, keeping kids off drugs, taking them swimming for the first time, teaching first aid, knots -- stuff that will help out later in life. We'd be punishing the national for being bigoted but the kids are going to get hurt."

Michelle Cannon, Duke's United Way coordinator, said she's optimistic that Duke can reach its $1.1 million goal, despite the controversy.

Duke's United Way Campaign will run from Sept. 20 through Oct. 13.

Campaign Update #2
8/25/00

Duke people responded through United Way to help hurricane victims

Last fall, in the aftermath of Hurricane Floyd, the Triangle United Way gave donors the option of designating their pledge to help flood victims in devastated eastern North Carolina.

More than 5,500 people, including many at Duke, responded to the call. When totaled, the Triangle United Way collected about $1.2 million for hurricane-relief efforts. At Duke, donors pledged that $38,000 of the $991,186 raised go directly toward flood-relief efforts.

During this year's campaign, there will be no special code for hurricane victims. But, as United Way President Tom Dugard notes, much of the help provided by United Way agencies came prior to and immediately after Hurricane Floyd, before donors had a chance to designate their pledge for flood relief.

"The real savings, the real good dollars, came before the storm struck," Dugard said. That money, he said, allowed 249 emergency shelters to open, provided food that was distributed by the Food Bank of North Carolina and funded other emergency operations.

"The real dilemma here," Dugard said, "is that people did not know they had already given through the United Way prior to the storm. Before Hurricane Floyd, you could not have gotten people to give to emergency services, but the week after the hurricane, people couldn't give enough."

To date, United Way dollars designated for the Hurricane Floyd Relief Fund have been channeled to about 50 different rebuilding projects in 15 counties. Money also has been used to purchase cots for shelters in Brunswick, Pender and New Hanover counties; establish an Emergency Aid Station to help the American Red Cross respond to future hurricane victims; replenish the 5 million pounds of food distributed by the Food Bank; provide supplies for use by volunteers of the Mennonite Disaster Service who are building homes for senior citizens, indigent people, disabled people and families with special needs; provide camp scholarships for 50 Boys and Girls Club members in Edgecombe County; and purchase furniture and appliances for flood victims being helped by the Burgaw Interfaith Network.

Dugard said last year's special pledge designation "provided people who are compassionate with a means of responding." He noted that pledges can still be earmarked to specific agencies "so we are prepared for the next storm." As in previous years, people can designate that their United Way pledge go to an agency or cause, which will be listed in pledge packets when they are distributed. Duke's United Way campaign kicks off Sept. 20. This year's goal is $1.1 million.

Campaign Update #1
8/11/00

United Way Campaign Kick-off is Coming!

Organizers of this year's United Way campaign at Duke University are gearing up for the largest campaign ever, confident they can reach a goal of $1.1 million. They've recruited dozens of employee volunteers to contact colleagues about the campus effort to raise money for organizations that benefit Triangle residents. The goal appears reasonable, they say, because Duke contributions have steadily increased over the past several years, culminating last year in a record $916,186.

"With our team of dedicated and creative volunteers, we are confident we will have another successful campaign," said Dan Rodas, assistant vice president for administration and a co-chair of Duke's campaign for the second time. "The generous contributions of our faculty and staff support vital human service needs in our community."

This year's campaign will kick-off Sept. 20 and run through Oct. 13. Staff from local United Way agencies will be on hand to explain the work of their organizations on Saturday, Aug. 19, Family Fun Day of Duke's Employee Appreciation Week. "It's really a great way to learn about several agencies at once, without having to make special efforts," said Janna Harton, a Duke marketing and planning specialist volunteering in the campaign. "They'll all be in one location."

The Triangle United Way funds 90 agencies throughout the region. Nearly every aspect of community life -- including daycare, pre-and after-school education, disaster relief, homelessness, literacy, and substance abuse prevention programs -- involves one of these agencies. Those area organizations, including the Red Cross, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, and the YMCA, touched an estimated 300,000 people last year.

"The generosity that so many express through the United Way is heartwarming and impressive," said Pat Meadows, the hospital's associate operating officer and another of this year's campaign co-chairs. "It's a delight to share in efforts to address our community's needs." This year, there are several options for making donations. Pledges can be earmarked for specific United Way agencies in home communities. Agencies that are funded by United Way have met stringent standards of accountability and performance. Gifts can also be directed to a key issue in Durham, Orange or Wake counties -- strengthening families, enriching the lives of seniors, investing in youth and nurturing the very young, promoting healing and wellness and increasing self-sufficiency. Donors may also direct a payroll deduction gifts to any non-profit agency, though the United Way will subtract overhead fees of 12 percent.

Because the United Way is also about fun, Duke will continue a popular practice started last year. Anyone who returns a pledge card, whether or not they make a donation, will become eligible for donated prizes, including airline tickets, computers, and vacation time. Winners will be posted in Dialogue, Inside DUMC and on the Duke United Way web site.

Judith Ruderman, vice provost for academic services, said she feels excited and enthusiastic about this year's campaign, her second as a co-chair. "I believe not only in 'the cause,' but also in the ability and willingness of our Duke employees to help meet community needs through the United Way campaign," Ruderman said. utilized."

Training for volunteers who will help out during the campaign begins in late August. Anyone interested in volunteering or who wants more information can e-mail Michelle Cannon, Duke's United Way coordinator, at michelle.cannon@duke.edu.

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