The statewide Commonwealth of Virginia Campaign held its kick-off ceremony for the year at Carr's Hill yesterday morning.
The CVC is an annual charity drive through which state employees can give to their choice of more than 1,000 charities. Employees may donate through payroll deductions, credit card, check, cash or stock. One hundred percent of the money donated goes directly to the charity: the CVC retains no overhead or administrative costs.
At a time when many charities are seeing drops in donations because of national support for victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Ida Lee Wooten, interim community relations director for the University, noted the need to give money to local organizations.
"After the Sept. 11 attacks there was an outpouring of donations to national relief agencies," Wooten said. "Paradoxically, local community charities are experiencing a shortfall of donations."
At the ceremony, University President John T. Casteen III spoke about how University employees can help the Charlottesville community by donating to charities through the CVC.
Casteen expressed his support for the CVC and its mission in an e-mail interview.
"I back CVC, the United Way and similar organizations because I am convinced that citizens and residents (which most of our faculty and staff are) should contribute and gain by making personal commitments to charitable entities and activities," Casteen said. "Volunteering and banding together to accomplish larger purposes than we can accomplish alone make our community a better place than it would be otherwise."
Last year the University ranked as the number one state institution in giving to the CVC. The University raised more than $520,000. Virginia Commonwealth University ranked second on the list, raising $280,000. Forty-three University departments had 100 percent participation.
This year the CVC hopes to increase participation among University employees, Wooten said. The campaign plans to set an official goal for the University sometime this week, she added.
To be included on the CVC list of charities, philanthropic organizations must be involved in health and human services, environmental matters or animal welfare. Charities register in March or April. They are reviewed by a CVC Advisory Council, composed of representatives from all over Virginia. To qualify, an organization must prove that it provides qualifying services, demonstrate evidence of non-discriminatory and non-political practices and have an administrative overhead under 25 percent.
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