09/14/2015

The annual UT Campus Chest Campaign started this week with a theme of “We are Volunteers. Volunteers give back.” I hope that you will again be generous in supporting the agencies and charities that serve people in need in our communities.

This year’s goal is $620,000, and of this the IPS portion is $30,000.

The Campus Chest campaign serves a broad listing of agencies and charities and is much more than just United Way or other charities in the communities. I personally find that giving to the United Way meets my interests, and you can probably find charities under the Campus Chest “umbrella” that will appeal to you. The Campus Chest folks assure us that we now have a system in place that allows us to designate donations to a specific purpose with confidence that the designation will happen as requested. It is also important to remember that the university does not charge any overhead or administrative costs for conducting the campaign. This makes every donation, regardless of size, important and worthwhile.

This year’s campaign is primarily electronic and pledging is easy – to find more information or to donate through payroll deduction simply log into the online giving portal at campuschest.utk.edu/make-a-pledge/. The email that we all received from the university also has the link. Some of our staff still prefer to provide a check or to make a one-time contribution instead of contributing through payroll deduction, and the campaign coordinators in each agency have paper donation cards, brochures and other information for your use.

Dr. Byrd has asked that I coordinate the campaign, and fortunately each agency also has an exceptional volunteer coordinator for this effort. This year’s campaign coordinators include the following:

Agency Staff Volunteer/Representative Goal
CIS Donna Bridges $6,800
CTAS Don Johnson $7,120
LEIC Gayle Githens $1,400
MTAS Armintha Loveday $11,000
Administration and Naifeh Center Steve Thompson $3,680

One question that we all have is how much should we each give, and of course the amount can only be answered by each donor. The agencies and people supported by this campaign are in desperate need, so please give to the extent that you can. Many companies and organizations try to reach a goal of at least one hour’s pay per month for each member of staff. We can easily reach our present goal if everyone participates, so whatever your gift amount I challenge you and each agency to try to help us to reach 100 percent participation.

I hope you join me in my feeling that we are truly blessed. We enjoy steady employment, we work with well-meaning colleagues, and we deliver services that make a difference in Tennessee. We have all known others not as fortunate, and the Campus Chest campaign offers an excellent way to assist others by supporting causes that we personally consider important.

Thank you for giving the Campus Chest Campaign serious consideration and for making a difference for our friends, neighbors and communities.


Steve

Steven T. Thompson, Assistant Vice President
865-974-9609 Telephone
239-963-6738 Cell/Text

www.ips.tennessee.edu




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