Annual Commonwealth of Virginia Campaign kicks off

By Leila Ugincius

Virginia Commonwealth University and the VCU Health System are gearing up for the 2008 Commonwealth of Virginia Campaign — the state’s annual giving program run by employees for employees.

To celebrate the statewide campaign, “Give Hope … Feed the Need,” the CVC held a kickoff celebration Sept. 23, featuring Virginia Secretary of Administration Viola Baskerville, who delivered the keynote address.

“This is just so important,” Baskerville said. “Times are really stressed for everybody. These organizations are all reflective of the needs of our community.”

The university and health system combined campaign is slated to start Oct. 1 when employees will receive their bright red CVC packets — including a letter from VCU President Eugene P. Trani, Ph.D., and a pre-printed pledge card — to all employees.

Campaign associates from each department will have a list of the nearly 1,300 approved charities participating in this year’s campaign. The list is also available online at http://www.cvc.vipnet.org/charities.htm. CVC charities run the gamut from humanitarian and human service charities to environmental groups.

Eight of this year's participating charities are affiliated with VCU (see sidebar below).

As usual, there are incentives this year for employees who participate. Dr. Baxter Perkinson has donated two original paintings to the campaign. Perkinson, former rector of the Board of Visitors and current member of the Health System Board, is an accomplished artist who created and donated a collection of original paintings for the School of Nursing building. A random drawing will be held at the end of the campaign to determine the winners.

Employees have until Nov. 14 to make their pledges. According to state CVC guidelines, 100 percent of proceeds designated for a charity through the use of a pledge card will go to the charity or charities indicated. Donations can again be made online via the state’s electronic pledge system or by cash, check, credit card or payroll deductions over a period of time.

The 2007 VCU and VCU Health System combined campaign collected $547,609.

CVC co-chairs Debbie M. Fitzgerald of VCU Human Resources and Marie Greenwood of VCU Health System Human Resources acknowledged that the economy and budget cutbacks have made money tight for most employees. However, they stressed that every little bit helps. And if more people donate just a small amount, the combined campaign could still break records.

“We’d like to have everyone make a contribution, even if it’s a small contribution,” Fitzgerald said.

For more information on the university and health system combined campaign, visit http://www.vcu.edu/cvc/index.html.