VCU and VCU Health System prepare for 2006 Commonwealth of Virginia Campaign

By Leila Ugincius

Virginia Commonwealth University and the VCU Health System are gearing up for the 2006 Commonwealth of Virginia Campaign — the state’s annual giving program run by employees for employees.

To celebrate the statewide campaign — whose annual giving period is Oct. 1 to Nov. 30. — the CVC held a kickoff celebration on Sept. 21, featuring Virginia first lady Anne Holton. Holton, a former state court judge, spoke from experience as a former state employee and former CVC contributor.

“Get ready. Start thinking about what you can do or give,” she said. “Think about our charitable donations as having a face. Real families, real people, real needs. Americans are known and recognized throughout the world for our charitable giving. The government can’t do it all. There are so many important needs that nonprofits and the private sector fill.”

The university and health system combined campaign is slated to start Oct. 16 when volunteer coordinators from both entities will mail a CVC packet — including a letter from VCU President Eugene P. Trani, Ph.D., and a pre-printed pledge card — to all employees.

Employees have until Nov. 30 to make their pledges. Donations can be made by cash, check, credit card or payroll deductions over a period of time. Campaign associates from each department will 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.

CVC co-chairs Debbie M. Fitzgerald of VCU Human Resources and Deanna Lacy of VCU Health System Human Resources said one goal this year for the combined campaign is increased participation.

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

Lacy agreed, adding that the myriad choices available make picking a recipient easy.

“We have all those good VCU charities — or all of the charities for that matter,” she said. “There’s one that’s sure to tug at the heartstrings. There’s something for everyone.”

Last year, VCU and VCU Health System employees contributed a record $711,033 to their combined CVC Campaign — more than any other state agency — exceeding the previous year’s campaign by more than $260,000. Between 2001 and 2005, the VCU and VCU Health System combined campaign has donated more than $2.1 million to charity.

In addition to monetary donations, this year’s campaign is emphasizing volunteerism.

“We asked for money and we get money. But we also know there are a lot of people giving their time and talents,” said CVC staffer Anne Dinterman.

In a videotaped address at the kickoff, Gov. Timothy Kaine encouraged Virginians to “consider sharing talent.”

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. Information about the campaign associate assigned to a specific department is online at http://www.pubinfo.vcu.edu/cvc/.