Close to Home
"Close to Home" is the faculty and staff campaign at the University of Connecticut Health Center.
Close to Home raised more than $1 million for the University in
the last fiscal year, and about $750,000 in 2007, and 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 (left), 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.”
UConn Health Center employees looking for ways to give should contact Liz Whitty at
860.679.6038 or by e-mail at:
ewhitty@foundation.uconn.edu
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