The Jackson State University United Way of the Capital Area (UWCA) Campaign will be held during March.
Dr. Kimberly Hilliard, executive director, Office of Community Engagement, said, “Our other campaigns have focused on giving back to the school, giving back to students. The United Way campaign offers a way of giving back to the community.”
Beginning March 2, a challenge will be issued to different members of the university community, Hilliard said. It will be to see which department has the highest participation.
Coincidentally, this year’s focus is on education.
It’s aimed at helping kids graduate from high school and enter college so that students can become “self sufficient,” said Carol Burger, UWCA president and CEO.
“So, we take the limited resources we have and focus on trying to make sure that we can change the lives of people for the good. And education is one of the ways to do that, to get people educated,” said Burger at a campaign kickoff Thursday, Feb. 19, at the Student Center.
In 2013, said Hilliard, the contributions by 288 JSU faculty and staff were approximately $12,522. The departments with the highest percentages of participation were: Division of Information Technology (100 percent) and Undergraduate Admissions and Studies (100 percent). The College of Science, Engineering, and Technology raised the highest amount per department ($3,646).
In 2014, the university focused its efforts on its own Y.E.S. campaign, Hilliard said.
The current goals for United Way are to increase campus-wide participation and the fundraising amount by at least 50 percent within a one-month campaign, Hilliard said.