Commonwealth of Virginia Campaign is Extended Until December 15

By Michael Ford
University News Services

The Commonwealth of Virginia Campaign has been extended until Dec. 15, providing additional time for employees to turn in pledge cards.

The CVC is the annual giving program that encourages Virginia state employees and others to contribute to humanitarian, environmental, and health and human service charities. The VCU and the VCU Health System combined campaign began in October.

Employee contributions for the combined campaign have surged by more than $65,000 in the past week. According to the latest figures, 1500 employees from the university and the health system have contributed nearly $288, 750. Employee gifts are averaging about $192, compared to an average contribution of $210 last year.

“We are so very grateful to the university and health system employees who have taken the time to fill out and return pledge cards, said Deanna Lacy, Human Resources, VCU Health System and CVC co-chair. “People’s lives are directly impacted by our donations and our decision to donate or not. It is so easy to give a dollar each pay period through payroll deduction. The amount is not even missed and the impact, when combined with the dollars of others, truly can make a difference in the lives of people less fortunate.

“We want to encourage anyone who hasn’t turned in a card to do so during this extended period. It is not too late. There is still time to make a difference,” Lacy said.

In the last five years, employees of VCU and the VCU Health System have contributed more than $1.5 million dollars to the CVC, including a record $366,320 for 2003.

“For the last few years, VCU and the VCU Health System combined campaign has ranked second among all state agencies in the Commonwealth,” said Linda Z. Tillman, Human Resource Division and VCU CVC co-chair. “Regardless of our final tally, we would like to see an increase in the number of our employees contributing to the CVC. It would be a solid indication that our combined campaign is growing.”

More than 1,100 charities have been approved to participate in the campaign, including five affiliated with the university or the health system. This year the Loftis Memorial Bereavement Fund, VCU Foundation Community Programs and Virginia Mentoring Partnerships have joined the Hospital Hospitality House and VCU’s Massey Cancer Center as CVC charities.

According to state CVC guidelines, 100 percent of designated contributions go to the charity or charities indicated. Pledge cards and CVC directories of charitable organizations were distributed to nearly 11,000 employees on both campuses. Employees may make contributions using cash, check, credit card or payroll deduction. Questions about making a contribution should be directed to campaign associates, 250 designated university and medical center employees within each department, who have been trained to provide answers about pledge cards, directories and charities. Contact information about the campaign associate assigned to a specific department may be found at www.pubinfo.vcu.edu/cvc/. To find out more information about the combined campaign go to www.vcu.edu/cvc/.