"Close to Home" Giving
From the September-October 2008 issue of UCHC e-Link
“Close to Home,” the employee giving campaign at UConn that raised more than $1 million for the University in the last fiscal year, and about $750,000 in 2007, is expanding its visibility at the UConn Health Center.
More than 480 UCHC employees contributed, says Liz Whitty, Program Director of Leadership Giving at the Health Center’s Office of Development and Alumni Relations, and she hopes for even more this year.
“We each work at a university because we’re committed to its mission and vision,” she says. “Matching that commitment with philanthropy is the logical extension of the work we do every day.”
Gifts can be made outright or through payroll deduction throughout the year. Health Center employees who have contributed in the past echo Whitty’s thoughts on the importance of giving, and see concrete examples of philanthropy every day in their areas of work. 
“Without private giving, we can’t possibly provide our patients, families, staff or clinicians with the additional complementary, holistic or research-directed programs and therapies that will enhance their quality of life,” says Nancy Baccaro, APRN, coordinator of the breast cancer program at the Carole and Ray Neag Comprehensive Cancer Center. “In order for us to be visionaries in our field, we need to provide better models and opportunities for care and research. But these are things that just aren’t built into the financial system in which we operate. Without donors, our vision is limited.”
All donations, regardless of their size, directly support the University and the UConn Health Center through the UConn Foundation, which manages more than 400 funds related to education, research, clinical care and community service at UCHC. Close to Home is unrelated to the Connecticut State Employees’ Campaign.
Judy Lewis, the director of Global Health Education and a professor in the departments of community medicine and pediatrics, says that private giving made a huge personal impact on her in school.
“I was the first in my family to go to college, and I went because of a scholarship provided through private giving,” she says. “I have always believed in giving back. I think it’s part of our duty as good citizens and human beings. By giving, we are helping students do things that they never would be able to do otherwise. That’s one of the legacies I’d like to leave.”
For more information about supporting the Close to Home Campaign at the UConn Health Center, please contact the Office of Development and Alumni Relations.
