A Million in 4 – Now More than Ever
The reach of the Hokie Nation is so broad, we sometimes forget what a difference we make to our communities and the state of Virginia. The annual Commonwealth of Virginia (CVC) campaign gives the Virginia Tech community an opportunity to make a difference by contributing to the charities of our choice. Our slogan this year, A Million in 4, highlights how generous our community has been in the last three years and how our total contributions could exceed $1,000,000 over a four year period depending on our generosity in this year’s campaign.
Provost Mark McNamee agreed to serve as Honorary Campaign Chair this year and he spoke at our campaign kickoff on September 22. He reminded all of us how tough times place an even greater demand on the services provided by the non-profit organizations which make such a difference in the lives of our communities. The same economic forces which have increased unemployment and placed financial pressures on working adults have decreased giving to the organizations which provide such an important safety net in our communities. As Dr. McNamee stated so well, “Now more than ever the services and programs we support are being called to help others.”
To help you help others in need, CVC Steering Team Chair John Beach and the members of the CVC Steering Team have made it even easier to give. While employees can continue to give using a paper form available on the CVC campaign site, http://www.cvc.hr.vt.edu/, the site includes a new online pledge system. You will really like the online pledge system because it is so simple to use. The system allows you to log in using your Virginia Tech PID, enter your pledge amount, select your charity or charities, verify your acknowledgement amount, and submit your pledge. I timed how long it took to make my pledge, including deciding on the charities, and it took less than two minutes to go from start to finish.
Rich Charles (in particular), Jacques Walker, Carol Bishop, and Terri Tishman in HR, and John Beach in Facilities, all helped out in developing the new system, with the guidance of the Campaign Steering Team. Oddly enough, the unsung heroes of this new system are our colleagues at the University of Virginia! It may seem strange to thank the Wahoos in this column, but they developed the system for use at the University of Virginia and allowed us to build on their work at no charge. No charge and new technology are rarely used in the same sentence! We know for a fact that Hokies working at the University of Virginia helped build the system initially (Hokies are everywhere!), but we appreciate the generosity and support of our neighbors in Charlottesville just the same.
However you choose to give, please make a difference this year by making a CVC campaign pledge. Now more than ever, Hokies can give back to their communities through their charitable donations. A million dollars of contributions in four years would be a tremendous demonstration of the caring and commitment of our employees.
About Hal Irvin
Hal Irvin has been Virginia Tech's associate vice president for human resources since March 2008.
Before coming to Virginia Tech, Hal worked for 14 years at Georgia Tech. In his last assignment, he served as executive director of organizational development – reporting to the executive vice president for administration and finance and was responsible for employee learning, change management, and internal consulting services. He played a central role in Georgia Tech’s successful efforts to improve administrative services and transform its service culture.