A message from Dr. Helen Turner about UMMC Cares campaign

Dear Colleagues and Friends:

I know you share my belief that we are extremely fortunate to work at the University of Mississippi Medical Center.  Not only is it a joy and a privilege  to work around a highly skilled, caring group of people who are doing work that really matters, but so far, the Medical Center has been spared from layoffs and severe cutbacks or closings others have experienced over the last year.

That makes it all the more important that we consider the needs of our neighbors in the UMMC Cares campaign.  This year's campaign, which begins Monday, Nov. 2, and runs through Nov. 13, will allow you to continue to support the organizations that are directly helping others with economic needs or who suffer devastating illness.  They include the United Way, the American Cancer Society, the American Heart Association, the American Lung Association, the March of Dimes and the Mississippi Kidney Foundation.

This year our goal is to exceed the total of our last campaign, $128,000.  But frankly I feel our university should be able to give much more than that.  We also should be able to vastly improve on our participation rates of the past.  Our goal this year is 50 percent participation.

Giving will be easier than ever with our new on-line donation system.   Employees throughout the Medical Center can log on to a secure Web site in the Lawson portal (the same place you find your electronic pay stub) to donate.  As in the past, you may make donations using payroll deduction (recommended), credit card, check or cash.  Because not all of our employees have easy access to a computer, donations may be made in the computer lab of the Rowland Medical Library, in the Public Affairs office, or at stations that will be staffed at various Medical Center locations during the campaign.  Remember, donations are tax-deductible within the limits set by the Internal Revenue Service.

And to help get you in the spirit of giving, we're going to give something to you:  The chance to win a prize for contributing.  In fact, several chances.  Since we have 10 official days of giving, at the end of each work day we will randomly select a donor to receive that day's prize.  The catch is, the minimum donation is $25 (twenty-five dollars) - well within the reach of our employees at just over $2 a monthly pay period.  The earlier during the campaign you make your pledge, the more prizes you will be eligible for.  (Please be advised that prizes valued over $50 will be taxable as income based on the items fair market value under IRS rules.)  To view the complete list of prizes, as well as other information about this fund drive, visit our UMMC Cares Web site at http://communitycampaign.umc.edu.

To be sure, prizes are not the focus of this campaign; our community is.  These are our neighbors, often our patients, people that make up the backbone of the towns that make up greater Jackson.  They need our support now more than ever.  I encourage you to please do what you can to answer this call.  Thanks in advance.

Helen Turner, M.D., Ph.D.

Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs

2009-11-02 00:00:00 3539