The 1997 United Way Campaign will officially kick off today in Lobby 7 from 11:30am-1:30pm, with balloons and refreshments as well as information about the campaign. MIT hopes to raise $315,000 to help the 2.2 million children and adults in Eastern Massachusetts during the campaign, which runs through December 31.
Packets containing a personalized pledge form, 1997 contribution guide, a letter from the United Way Steering Committee, and a return envelope will be distributed to all employees on campus and at Lincoln Laboratory through interdepartmental mail by the end of the month. Department solicitors will be contacting members of their department to let them know to whom pledge forms may be returned, as well as giving them information about their department's campaign.
An October 21 letter from President Charles M. Vest will be sent to all members of the MIT community, outlining the various ways in which donations can be targeted within the United Way and asking for everyone's participation.
Many members of the MIT community donate their time as well as money to one or more of the 200 nonprofit social-service agencies helped by the United Way of Massachusetts Bay (UWMB), which hopes to raise a total of $43 million this fall. During the campaign, MIT Tech Talk will periodically profile some of these people. Anyone who knows a person who volunteers for a United Way agency may contact editor Alice Waugh at x8-5401, Rm 5-111.
Various United Way events will be taking place during the campaign, including the annual clothing drive and bake sale, and a raffle at the end of the campaign, in which everyone who makes a donation to the United Way will be automatically entered into a drawing for prizes donated by local vendors. Further information will be announced at a later date.
Departments that have not appointed an area solicitor yet are asked to do so as soon as possible and call the Office of Special Community Services (OSCS) with the person's name.
Information about the UWMB can be found on the Web at http://www.uwmb.org>. Anyone with questions about the MIT campaign should speak with their department solicitor, or call Elizabeth K. Mulcahy, employee campaign manager, or Debra Fair in the OSCS (MIT's United Way campaign headquarters) in Rm 20A-023, x 3-7914.
A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on October 22, 1997.
