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Volume CXXXIII, Number 6 |
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Bowdoin Maineshare and United Way campaign begins
ALIX ROY
ORIENT STAFF
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| Left to right, United Way campaign organizers Nancy Brown, Jane Irish, and Charmaine Delano. (Hans Law, Bowdoin Orient) |
Bowdoin employees will have a chance to give back to their community during the month of October thanks to the Bowdoin College 2003 Workplace Campaign, which involves the combined efforts of the United Way and Maineshare.
On average, between 40 and 43 percent of employees participated in at least one of the programs last year, helping to raise $80,754. This sum was $5,000 more than 2001's total, and represented a crucial part of the 65.5 percent increase in donations from 1995 when Bowdoin first became involved with the MaineShare program in addition to the United Way.
United Way of Mid-Coast Maine seeks to "improve lives by mobilizing the caring power of communities." While the majority of Bowdoin employees do not directly participate in United Way events, their donations to United Way enable volunteers to provide 150,000 meals a year to families who would otherwise be without food.
"We're very appreciative of the Bowdoin community and its help with us in the past and present,." Lisa Dube, the United Way campaign director said.
United Way also supports groups such as the Salvation Army, Planned Parenthood, and the Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Mid-Coast Maine. Last year, Bowdoin employees raised over $55,000 for United Way alone, becoming the third largest contributor to the program.
MaineShare, the other major organization Bowdoin donates to, is made up of 35 non-profit organizations that focus on prevention, advocacy, and education. Instead of providing services for young mothers, MaineShare works to promote safe sex and abstinence, tackling the causes of the problem rather than the problem itself. Programs supported by MaineShare are educational groups such as The Maine AIDS Alliance, Maine Audubon, and the Maine Coalition to End Domestic Violence. While the United Way is a regionally based organization, MaineShare supports only groups based in the state of Maine.
All donors are able to specify on their pledge forms exactly which organizations they wish to support. Peggy Schick, the behind-the-scenes organizer of Bowdoin's workplace campaign, said this year's goal is to have all employees return pledge forms, with or without a donation. This way, Bowdoin can be certain that all employees are aware of their options; even if they decide not to take advantage of them.
President Mills sends a letter each year asking faculty and staff to consider giving, but beyond that, publicity for the campaign is limited.
"There's a fine line between wanting to hype the event and not wanting to annoy people," said Schick.
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