Employee Giving Campaign Begins Sept. 7
Doing Good in the Neighborhood strengthens communities
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Durham, NC -- When Duke’s expanded employee contribution program was unveiled last year as “Doing Good in the Neighborhood,” Courtney Frankel was among the first to pledge a contribution.
She chose to support local health care clinics through a regular payroll deduction “because I don’t like the thought of people not having access to adequate health care.”
“I hadn’t given through Duke before,” said Frankel, a physical therapist at the Center for Living. “But I was struck by the variety of ways to give to the community directly.”
Led by Phail Wynn Jr., Duke’s vice president of Durham and Regional Affairs, “Doing Good in the Neighborhood” invites faculty and staff to give directly to about 30 organizations and programs supported through the Duke-Durham Neighborhood Partnership and Duke’s Division of Community Health. The campaign also includes an option to contribute to United Way agencies.
This year’s campaign begins Sept. 7 and runs through November. Last year, employees pledged more than $203,000 through the Doing Good in the Neighborhood campaign. Unlike many charities, the campaign does not deduct administrative fees from employee contributions before passing them to Duke-supported organizations in local neighborhoods. This allows 100 percent of employee contributions to flow to the community.
Frankel’s pledge led her to other connections in the community such as delivering groceries from the Durham Food Bank to the Walltown Neighborhood Ministries for their food distribution.
“That experience introduced me to a Durham neighborhood I had never spent time in,” said Frankel, who lives in Durham. “And I saw how the programs are directly benefiting people in the community.”
Betty Henderson, business manager at Duke’s Center for International Studies, had a similar experience.
“I’ve worked at Duke for 29 years, but never felt connected to the neighborhoods near campus,” she said. That changed when she received a monthly e-mail of volunteer opportunities from the campaign. Soon, she found herself participating in a neighborhood clean up in Walltown.
“I feel Duke needs to do as much as possible in these neighborhoods, and I’m glad to help,” Henderson said.
Henderson and Frankel hope Duke employees join them in this year’s campaign by donating time or money to improvethe lives of people living in and around Durham.
“I know times are tough,” Frankel said, “but I’m actually looking forward to contributing more.”
Henderson agreed. “I never know when I’ll be the one needing help,” she said. “It creates a good foundation in your life if you give to others while you can.”
