Campaign pleas for local charity support

By Matt Kelly

The University community can respond to terrorism with charity.

This was the central theme at the Commonwealth of Virginia Campaign kick-off breakfast, held Nov. 12 at the president’s house at Carr’s Hill. The campaign collects money from state employees for more than 1,000 charities statewide.

David C. Cattell-Gordon, director of community relations at the Cancer Center and senior campaign coordinator, stressed to volunteers Monday that this year’s campaign is very important. Since last year’s generous response, the economy has soured, unemployment is rising and much of the remaining charitable focus has been on the attack site. He said local charities had seen “a steep decline” in donations since the September attacks.

“We have to reach out to New York City and Madison County,” he said, “Washington D.C. and Charlottesville.”

Describing the Commonwealth of Virginia Campaign as the collective voice of a community of service, Cattell-Gordon called for 100 percent participation from the University community.

Cattell-Gordon also invoked the memory of state Sen. Emily Couric, who died last month of pancreatic cancer. He said working with cancer patients is a reminder that life should be lived fully every minute and he said Couric did that by serving others.

U.Va. President John T. Casteen III, in his opening remarks, said the University raised $522,000 last year, surpassing its $470,000 goal. He said the overall campaign goal this year is $2.4 million, of which he thought U.Va. employees would supply about 25 percent.

Ida Lee Wootten, the University’s interim community relations director, said that through the act of giving University employees can keep hope alive. She described the CVC as an “ideal way to help others.”