Spurred on by a new way of giving, employees and students
from the university and Johns
Hopkins Medicine pledged more than $2 million to the 2007 United
Way of Central Maryland
campaign, which by most measures was a resounding success.
The campaign this year featured the new Johns Hopkins
Neighborhood Fund, which supports
agencies that serve communities in close proximity to Johns
Hopkins campuses and have a strong
relationship with the university and its employees. Employees
were allowed to designate all or part of
their donation to the fund, which was created to assist
community-oriented organizations and agencies
that may not currently receive United Way funding.
The fund, seeded with a $20,000 donation from the
President's Office, helped raise more than
$164,000. A committee representing a cross section of Johns
Hopkins employees will be formed early
this year to oversee the allocation of the fund, which focuses on
five key areas: health, education,
public safety, employment and community strengthening.
Charlene Hayes, vice president for human resources, said
that the response to the
Neighborhood Fund exceeded expectations and likely helped the
overall campaign top its goal of
$1,992,510.
The $2,058,166 raised represents a total for contributions
from all university divisions except
the School of Advanced International Studies, whose donations are
reported to the National Capital
Area campaign in Washington, D.C., and the Applied Physics
Laboratory, which no longer reports its
financial goals and results.
Asked to explain the success of the Neighborhood Fund, Hayes
said that it highlighted the need
to support the communities where JHU employees work.
"I think people saw the need to sustain these neighborhoods,
and it gave them another reason
to contribute. They drive in these neighborhoods every day and
see how great the needs are in some
areas," Hayes said. "People who might not usually give threw in
their support. The reception to this way
of giving has been marvelous."
The Homewood Student Council, spurred on by President
William R. Brody's challenge gift,
raised $500 and obtained 500 signatures on a banner in support of
the Neighborhood Fund.
Hayes said the money will begin to be distributed this fall,
following the recommendations of
the soon-to-be-formed committee.
United Way of Central Maryland supports human service
agencies in Baltimore City and its five
surrounding counties. With donations still filtering in,
$1,291,481 was pledged to the university's
campaign, which kicked off Oct. 22 and officially ended Dec.
14.
The university hosted a series of events to highlight the
campaign, including the JHU
Community Block Party, Chili Cook-Off and National Community
Service Day, a daylong event in which
employees volunteered at several local agencies.
In September, Johns Hopkins employees took part in the Share
Yourself Makeover Challenge
II, a regional effort in which several major area employers were
invited to help renovate and equip the
YMCA of Central Maryland's Owen Brown Child Care Center in Howard
County. A six-member team
from the university, joined by Baltimore Ravens players, helped
transform the center's room for 2-
year-olds.
Divisions and departments also hosted special fund-raising
events, such as Homewood Student
Affairs' Stupid Pet Pics contest and a car wash hosted by members
of Homewood Plant Operations.
James Zeller, chair of the university's campaign and vice
provost for budgets, said that he
"truly appreciated the efforts of the various departments in
making the United Way campaign a fun
and successful event."
Johns Hopkins Medicine launched its intensive two-week
United Way effort on Oct. 15 and
bested its goal of $1.35 million by approximately $250,000.
Since participation historically had been relatively low in
the School of Medicine, the JHM
campaign this year sought to actively involve departmental
leadership, coordinators and ambassadors.
Pictures of the leaders with this year's slogan, "We're 100
Percent Behind United Way," were e-mailed
to employees, featured on hall posters and projected at faculty
and staff meetings.
Joanne Pollak, chair of the JHM campaign and vice president
and general counsel for Johns
Hopkins Medicine, said that departments also held a "friendly
competition" to see who had the highest
increase in participation and dollars raised. The top three in
increased participation were
Otolaryngology, Emergency Medicine and Orthopaedics.
Otolaryngology and Emergency Medicine also
had the largest increases in dollars raised, along with the
Department of Medicine.
"We are very thankful to everyone who responded in this
year's campaign and allowed Johns
Hopkins Medicine to surpass its goal," Pollak said. "We are
particularly proud of the departments that
had significant increases in percentages of participation and
dollars raised."
Pollak specifically thanked two Johns Hopkins Hospital
employees, Susan Franklin and Kevin
Schoenfeld, who shared their United Way stories in an effort to
draw support for the campaign.
Franklin was rescued by a United Way volunteer fireman after
Hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana and
found her way to Baltimore with the help of United Way agencies.
Schoenfeld's life was changed
dramatically through a United Way rehabilitation program in East
Baltimore.
"They helped make the United Way story real for people
through their talks and videos," Pollak
said. "We really appreciate their efforts."
Two of the university's 15 United WayÐdesignated units far
exceeded their goal: Homewood
Student Affairs and the School of Medicine. Of special note in
this year's campaign, the School of
Medicine bested its goal by 36 percent, raising $788,518.
Homewood Student Affairs had the highest
participation rate, 49 percent, and raised $29,988. The Carey
Business School had the second-highest
participation rate, 47 percent.
Overall, Johns Hopkins doubled its number of leadership
members--a designation for those who
donate $1,000 or more--to 818. The total participation rate in
the campaign was 17.5 percent.
Although the campaign has officially ended, donations are
needed and welcome all year. To make
a pledge, or for more information on the campaign, go to
www.jhu.edu/unitedway.