A hot meal at dinnertime, the pleasure of leisurely reading a book, the peace of mind you experience when you know that your children are being cared for safely while you work: Most of us expect to have these basic things in life, yet for many people, they are experiences that are mostly dreamed about.
University faculty and staff can help to make these basic "needs" a reality for those who lack them by participating in this year's Yale Employee United Way Campaign, which got underway this week with the mailing of brochures and pledge cards aimed at making it easy to contribute to the annual fundraising drive.
In fact, this year's campaign offers more options for giving than ever before.
New this year is the option of "Focused Community Care," which allows employees to target their gift to one or more specific areas of service they feel will most benefit from their donation. These areas are "Nurturing Our Children," "Promoting Positive Youth Development," "Promoting Independence for People," "Strengthening Families," "Meeting Basic Needs" and "Protecting Our Health."
A gift designated for "Meeting Basic Needs," for example, could help provide hot dinners to a family in need; a donation toward "Promoting Independence for People" could help someone who doesn't know how to read experience the joy of mastering that ability; and a contribution targeted to "Nurturing Our Children" can assist a working single parent in paying for quality child care.
As in past Yale Employee United Way Campaigns, faculty and staff members can also make donations directly to the United Way of Greater New Haven, which distributes contributions among its 30 member agencies, or they can designate a specific United Way agency to receive their gift. In addition, employees have the option of supporting one of 25 "Combined Health Appeal" agencies or of selecting another nonprofit Connecticut health or social service agency the agency must meet the requirements stated on the pledge form .
"This year's campaign theme is 'Touch a Life' -- with all of us contributing we can touch so many lives," says Daisy Rodriguez, the University's assistant secretary for community relations and coordinator of the campaign.
"The goal of the Yale Employee United Way Campaign is to help as many people in our own local communities as we can through our generosity, and the more options we have for doing that, the better," she adds. "With the new option of Focused Community Care, donors who want to meet a specific community need can now do so, while others have the choice to continue doing what they have in the past. The pledge form and the accompanying Yale Employee United Way Campaign brochure that have been mailed to all faculty and staff makes the options very clear, and lists all of the United Way and Combined Health Appeal agencies."
The Yale Employee United Way Campaign is the only solicitation the University makes of its employees. The fundraising drive is being chaired by the Reverend Frederick J. Streets, who also led the campaign effort for the past two years. Last year, faculty and staff contributed over $350,000.
"We believe this amount can be significantly increased, and we hope to raise over $400,000 in this year's campaign," said President Richard C. Levin in a letter to members of the Yale community that was included with pledge forms. "We can achieve this goal if those who have contributed before increase our annual pledge, and others choose to participate in this year's campaign."
Gifts to the United Way help more than 400,000 people yearly through member agencies' services and programs. In addition, some of the most well-known national organizations, such as the American Heart Association and the American Red Cross, receive funding from the United Way.
The United Way of Greater New Haven helps to ensure that monies are spent wisely and effectively by enlisting the support of local community members, who serve on the agency's board of directors and work in teams to allocate United Way funds. Trained volunteers also monitor the various agencies and programs receiving funds to make sure that donations are being well spent. Of every dollar pledged, only 15 cents is used to cover administrative costs, such as campaign advertising. A certified public accounting firm audits the United Way each year; copies of required findings are available through the United Way.
In addition to having several options for designating their gifts, Yale faculty and staff have several choices for pledging. One of the more popular is the Payroll Deduction Plan, which allows employees to have their gifts deducted from their paychecks in installments. Gifts can also be made by check or cash, and individuals who donated more than $24 can be billed.
"The money that you donate will feed the hungry, house the homeless, educate young children, assist the elderly, provide counseling and reach out to those in need," President Levin said in his letter to employees. "Yale University takes great pride in the commitment we have made to the Greater New Haven Community. Please give generously."