Helping those in need took on increased significance during the 2018 Giving Green Campaign kickoff luncheon.
Campaign co-chair Shannon Homesley, executive assistant to the provost, talked about the strength and pride of the UNC Charlotte community. A legacy alumna whose father Gary graduated in 1967, Homesley spoke of the power of Niner Nation uniting to enact “positive change for the citizens in our service region and beyond.”
She added, “Coming together as a community and supporting one another is especially important in light of the devastating effects of Hurricane Florence. Many of our fellow citizens face a long journey back to normal, and some of our students and their families who live in flooded communities face financial hardships, too.”
The UNC Charlotte Emergency Relief Fund, administered by the UNC Charlotte Foundation, will provide scholarship assistance to 49ers in need, so they and their families can focus on recovering and rebuilding. Also, four North Carolina chapters of the American Red Cross are part of the State Employees Combined Campaign (SECC), and faculty and staff members who are interested in supporting disaster relief can designate donations through Giving Green.
Scott Smith, chair of the Mechanical Engineering and Engineering Science Department in the Lee College of Engineering and campaign co-chair, spoke of his father, who dropped out of high school, but following World War II, the elder Smith would obtain his high school equivalency and complete a bachelor’s degree and a doctorate.
“My father served aboard a submarine during the war, and one of the subs he was supposed to be on ended up being lost. He was determined his survival would have meaning. The college degrees he earned changed not only the arc of his life but that of our family. Today, I am a university professor, and my brother is an ER physician.”
Smith pointed out that his father was a first-generation college student, which is the case for nearly 40 percent of UNC Charlotte’s undergraduates.
“A little help at the right time can make a monumental difference,” said Smith. “My mother would say that everyone struggles in life, but we all have an obligation to help one another along the way.”
Nearly 300 UNC Charlotte faculty and staff members attended the Giving Green kickoff luncheon in the Cone University Center, Lucas Room.
The University’s annual Giving Green drive benefits the Arts & Science Council, the many nonprofit organizations affiliated with the State Employees Combined Campaign and the UNC Charlotte Foundation.
The 2017 campaign extended the record-breaking success of employee philanthropy; 918 individual donors joined together to give $249,745. This year’s co-chairs and the Giving Green champions in colleges and divisions are focused on increasing faculty/staff participation in the campaign.
As with past campaigns, employees will have the opportunity to Give Green in the Community; sign up for one of the fall 2018 volunteer efforts.
Also, #NinerNationGives, an annual 49-hour digital fundraising event, is underway through 9 a.m., Friday, Sept. 28. Giving Green contributions given before the 49-hour drive ends will count toward #NinerNationGives totals and participation, too.
