By Keith Pierce
It is not too late to make a difference! Old Dominion University faculty and staff can still take advantage of exciting weekly incentives to turn in their pledges to the annual Commonwealth of Virginia Campaign (CVC). Donors remain eligible for weekly prizes throughout the campaign. The sooner you give, the more chances you have to win.
So far, more than 175 ODU employees have pledged nearly $43,000, of which $3,400 has gone to the Rise to the Challenge campaign.
"The pandemic continues to be a growing challenge. But during this season of giving many people want to know how they can help, especially in their own backyard," said Karen Meier, assistant vice president for community engagement, who chairs the campaign. "That's why we are so excited that the Rise to the Challenge fund is included as an option this year. It helps provide emergency aid to those in our Monarch community who face sudden challenges with travel, housing, food, technology, unemployment, health and wellness and other expenses."
There are approximately 1,000 other good reasons to donate. That's the number of local, state, national and international organizations that benefit from CVC contributions. For more information about those groups, visit http://www.cvc.virginia.gov.
Emily Elliott, director of the Virginia Department Human Resource Management and the Virginia State Employee Emergency Fund who serves as chair of the CVC Advisory Council, said in a letter to state employees: "We'd like to meet our 25% state employee participation goal this year, and we can't do it without you. It's exciting and easy for you to give by being able to donate to or bid for great items in our silent auction at auction.cvcgives.org."
When employees give to the CVC, 100% percent of designations go directly to the charity they choose. The deadline for payroll deduction, found here (https://cvc.tfaforms.net/72), is Dec. 18. However, at cvcgives.org, you can give directly through Dec. 31 by phone or desktop computer with a single donation or even set up a recurring monthly pledge.
For more information or instructions, see your individual department CVC coordinator or contact Ebony Drayton, the University CVC coordinator, at edrayton@odu.edu.
