Commonwealth of Virginia Campaign extended to Dec. 15

By Leila Ugincius

The Commonwealth of Virginia Campaign — the state’s annual giving program — has been extended until Dec. 15 to provide additional time for employees to turn in pledge cards.

This year, to boost interest and to thank contributors, the university and health system held drawings for prizes. Early contributors won gift cards to Target, Ukrops, Wal-Mart and the VCU Bookstores, or tickets to VCU basketball games. Late contributors can still qualify for the remaining prizes including the grand prize — free parking for a year.

Donations can be made by cash, check, credit card or payroll deductions over a period of time. Campaign associates from each department have a list of the nearly 1,400 approved charities that participate in the 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.

Moreover, VCU has eight charities that have been approved to participate in this year’s campaign. Besides long-standing participants such as the Hospital Hospitality House, the Loftis Bereavement Fund, the VCU Massey Cancer Center, the VCU-Carver Community Partnership and the Virginia Mentoring Partnership, there are three newcomers this year. The latest VCU-affiliated charities to join the campaign are the Center for Human-Animal Interaction, Pediatric Palliative Care and the Virginia Council on Economic Education.

Replacement pledge cards are available. Employees with questions about completing the pledge card should contact their area's campaign associate, whose name is listed on the pledge card. For a blank replacement card, contact Debbie Fitzgerald at dmfitzge@vcu.edu, or Deanna Lacy at dlacy@mcvh-vcu.edu.

The combined campaign for VCU and the VCU Health System began in October. According to the latest figures, 1,193 employees from the university and the health system have contributed nearly $256,690 — a slight decrease compared with the same period last year.

The CVC executive committee encourages everyone to remember the CVC slogan — “Caring + Sharing = Hope” — and to consider contributing during this season of giving and sharing, before the campaign closes on Dec. 15.

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