VCU and VCUHS combined Commonwealth of Virginia Campaign honored

By Leila Ugincius

The Virginia Commonwealth University and VCU Health System combined 2006 Commonwealth of Virginia Campaign exceeded its goal, earning a Shining Star Award from the Virginia Department of Human Resource Management during its awards ceremony in February.

The university and health system combined campaign raised $405,111 — $1,186 more than last year's CVC total, not including last year's special campaign for Hurricane Katrina relief — with nearly 1,900 employees participating.

The CVC is an annual giving program that encourages Virginia state employees to contribute to humanitarian, environmental and health and human-service charities. The statewide campaign began Oct. 1 and ended in mid-December. This year, to boost interest and to thank contributors, the university and health system held drawings for prizes. Contributors won gift cards to area stores and tickets to VCU basketball games. The grand prize was free parking for a year.

Nearly 1,400 approved charities participated, including eight VCU charities: the Hospital Hospitality House, the Loftis Bereavement Fund, the VCU Massey Cancer Center, the VCU-Carver Community Partnership, the Virginia Mentoring Partnership, the Center for Human-Animal Interaction, Pediatric Palliative Care and the Virginia Council on Economic Education.

Between 2001 and 2006, the VCU and VCU Health System combined campaign has donated more than $2.5 million to charity.

The 2006 statewide CVC collected $4.2 million in contributions from employees across Virginia.