Nearly 300 faculty and staff members strolled the red carpet inside the Barnhardt Student Activity Center Tuesday to celebrate the “Hollywood-esque” premiere of this year’s Giving Green Campaign; nonprofit organizations supported by the Arts & Science Council and State Employees Combined Campaign benefit from the University’s workplace giving program, along with units on campus through the UNC Charlotte Foundation.
Beyond soliciting financial support from faculty and staff members, Giving Green organizers have coordinated a number of volunteer opportunities on campus and in the community in which employees can participate. Full-time permanent employees are eligible for up to 24 hours of community leave per calendar year, with supervisor approval.
“We’re pleased and proud to be ‘executive producers’ for this year’s sweeping spectacle that is Giving Green, but the real stars in the Giving Green constellation are the donors, volunteers, champions and supporters,” wrote Giving Green co-chairs Malin Pereira and Jim Hoppa in a campus email. “A constant theme of Giving Green is employee participation, and this year is no different. While we’re searching for a cast of thousands, we’re definitely looking for more than ‘The Usual Suspects.’”
Both Pereira and Hoppa have supported the Giving Green Campaign for several years. Organizations affiliated with the ASC, such as Charlotte Ballet and the Charlotte Symphony, have personal significance for Pereira. SECC charities such as the Muscular Dystrophy Association and those involved in cancer research and child advocacy are among the beneficiaries of Hoppa’s support.
“We work in a wonderful environment,” said Hoppa. “We’re fortunate to be here. So many people are less fortunate. So, the idea of contributing a few dollars a month so that somebody else has a life better than they currently have makes all the sense in the world.”
Volunteer opportunities for this year’s Giving Green Campaign occur throughout October. Employees can sign up to assist at the Humane Society on Tuesday, Oct. 6, or Thursday, Oct. 22; the Milton Road Boys and Girls Club on Thursday, Oct. 15; Actor’s Theatre of Charlotte on Wednesday, Oct. 21; Friendship Trays on Wednesday, Oct. 28; and the Crisis Assistance Ministry Furniture Bank on Friday, Oct. 30.
On-campus volunteer activities will feature building snack kits for after-school programs serving at-risk youth on Thursday, Oct. 15; helping in the Habitat Homecoming Build on Friday, Oct. 16; and putting together toiletry kits for Crisis Assistance Ministry on Tuesday, Oct. 27.
As part of the Giving Green premiere, the Division for University Advancement held a bake sale with proceeds going to the Employee Loan Fund, established to provide actively employed UNC Charlotte employees with an alternative to borrow money for short-term emergency situations. The sale generated $675 for the fund.
During the Tuesday premiere, participants watched a brief video about the 2015 Giving Green Campaign.
The Arts & Science Council works to build appreciation, participation and support for the arts, science, history and heritage of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County. ASC funding is distributed to artists; arts and cultural education; neighborhood cultural projects; and 30-plus arts, science, history and heritage organizations.
The State Employees Combined Campaign, which began in 1984, is the only authorized fundraising campaign permitted to solicit charitable contributions in the state employee workplace. Its aim is to strengthen and sustain North Carolina communities and their citizens by assuring state employees and retirees the chance to support charitable organizations that are “accountable, fiscally sound and committed to improving the quality of life” in the state, nation and world.
All North Carolina agencies compete for SECC campaign awards. UNC system institutions are grouped by total number of workers employed. Last year, UNC Greensboro was recognized for its SECC efforts to achieve the highest per capita giving level among UNC institutions with 1,500 to 4,999 employees. Five UNC system institutions also were honored for organizing the largest total SECC campaigns among all state agencies: UNC Chapel Hill, N.C. State University, UNC Greensboro, East Carolina University and Appalachian State University.