October 28, 2004

This year’s University of Houston State Employee Charitable Campaign (SECC) will have the same
purpose — to raise funds for non-profit agencies — but with a different approach.

With the theme of “Committed to a Stronger Community,” UH’s campaign will kick off Monday, Nov. 1, without dozens of staff volunteers serving as campaign coordinators.

“Because of time constraints and the need to streamline the process, we are doing things a little differently, with the hope that the results will be as impressive as in years past,” explained UH President Jay Gogue. “This year, there will be no campaign coordinators to collect pledge forms in the colleges and departments. Instead, we are relying on the goodwill and support of faculty and staff to mail their pledges directly to UH campaign headquarters.”

Employees will be receiving an envelope with a pledge form, tip sheet, and informational brochure on or about Nov. 1. The white and yellow sections of the completed pledge forms should be mailed directly to “SECC, Mail Code: 2013.” Employees should keep the pink section of the form for their records.

“Even though we will not have campaign coordinators collecting forms, we have assigned campaign representatives to the colleges and divisions to answer any questions and facilitate the process,” said John Rudley, vice president for administration and finance, who is this year’s UH SECC chairperson.

The names of the campaign representatives may be found on the UH SECC Web page at www.uh.edu/admin/media/secc. The page will go live Nov. 1.

Rudley will be aided in the campaign efforts by Bob Herrington, assistant vice president for executive development and training. Herrington is scheduled to make a presentation during Staff Council’s Nov. 4 meeting and the Nov. 11 meeting of the college and division administrators. He also is scheduling presentations to deans and other groups to enlist their support.

SECC provides state employees with a convenient and efficient way to make voluntary, tax-deductible contributions through payroll deduction, cash or check to benefit hundreds of agencies. When making a gift by check, please follow the instruction listed on the tip sheet that is included in the packet employees will receive.

Since 1995, UH faculty and staff have raised almost $900,000 for dozens of area charities benefiting tens of thousands of Texans. This year, 550 charities are participating in SECC, including the Houston Speech and Hearing Clinic at right here at UH.

“Faculty and staff have a choice of many worthy causes and organizations to which to contribute at the local, state, national, and even international level,” Gogue said. “Quite literally, there is a group or cause guaranteed to appeal to everyone — from health and human services, to the environment, to human rights, to educational programs for children and support programs for the elderly,” Gogue said.

Rudley, who encourages the entire UH community to participate in SECC, added, “Every gift, whether large or small, makes a difference. Participation, more than anything, is what will make a difference.”

ABOUT THE HOUSTON SPEECH AND HEARING CLIINIC AT UH
Located in the Clinical Research and Services Building, the Houston Speech and Hearing Clinic (http://www.uh.edu/hshc/ ) provides such services as remediation of speech, language and hearing disorders to children and adults on a sliding fee scale at various sites, both on and off campus. The clinic accepts the university’s insurance. If you wish to make a gift to the clinic through the SECC, please mark code “333800” on your pledge form.