Foundation campaign gears up

As the state continues to cut higher education budgets, the Pellissippi State Foundation becomes more and more vital to the college’s continued success. Whether it’s providing scholarships to students, equipment for classrooms or professional development opportunities for faculty and staff, the Foundation’s purpose is to help the College continue to provide an exceptional education to our students.

But, of course, the Foundation must rely on the support of people like you in order to help the students. That is why the Foundation is gearing up for an internal fundraising campaign to be held September 8-19. After all, who knows better how much difference the College can make in the lives of our students than the faculty and staff?

A steering committee is already taking shape, and three individuals have volunteered to serve as co-chairs. Bill Brewer, an instructor in Music, will serve as the Faculty Chair; Pat Lee, lead cashier, will be the Support Staff Chair and Julia Wood, director of Community Relations, will serve as the Administrative Chair.

Soon a representative will be selected from each department or division of the College. That person will contact each of you individually to give you a pledge form. Remember, you can designate on the form where you’d like your money to go—whether it’s for scholarships, equipment or the greatest needs fund. The steering committee established the goal of the campaign as 100 percent participation from faculty and staff instead of setting a dollar amount as the goal.

To make it more interesting, there will be a little friendly competition among the three employee groups. The employee group with the highest percent participation will receive a special prize. There will be individual drawings for prizes all along the way, so make sure you return your pledge form with or without a gift so you will be eligible for the prize drawings. Your departmental representative will contact you soon.