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Wanted: Volunteers for Durham

In schools and neighborhoods, Wynn says Duke staff make a difference

Phail Wynn discusses Duke-Durham relations during Primetime Wednesday.

As Durham goes, so goes Duke.

With that mantra in mind, Phail Wynn Jr., Duke's vice president for Durham and regional affairs, explained how the new "Doing Good in the Neighborhood" campaign would allow faculty and staff to engage the Durham community through volunteer and philanthropic efforts.

"The new Doing Good in the Neighborhood campaign is the first opportunity for employees to financially support Duke's ongoing work in the Durham community," Wynn said at a quarterly Primetime employee forum Wednesday in the Bryan Center's Griffith Theater.

The new employee giving campaign builds on the university's previous United Way Duke Partnership Campaign.

"This year, employees have the choice of giving either to the United Way as usual, or to six different areas of programming that Duke University and the Duke University Health System provide to the Durham community," he said.

The areas where employees can donate to are: Academic Enrichment and Youth Development, Neighborhood Growth and Development, Community Health, Community Arts and Academic Non-Profit Organizations, University Engagement and a Community Care Grantmaking Fund.

The Primetime event also included a video about the "Doing Good" campaign, as well as a question-and-answer session that touched on why it's important to strengthen the partnership between university and the surrounding community.

Employees on Doing Good

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Phail Wynn talks with employees Elaine Madison and Julian Sanchez following Primetime.

Duke employees share their ideas in a Primetime video.

Wynn began his talk by sharing the origins of his new position, which was created by the university's board of trustees and President Richard H. Brodhead last year to advance elements of the university's strategic plan, "Making a Difference."

The Office of Durham and Regional Affairs focuses on the priorities laid out in the strategic plan, which says that Duke gives high priority to reaching beyond its campus to strengthen local, regional, and international partnerships.

Since 1996 outreach has taken place largely through the Duke-Durham Neighborhood Partnership, which Wynn said has "established trust between Duke and the 12 neighborhoods where it works."

Wynn said he sees evidence of this growing trust in Duke's partnership with organizations such as Self-Help and Habitat for Humanity, which has resulted in 264 homes being built or refurbished and sold to individuals with low-cost mortgages. He also cited the two community wellness centers supported by the partnership that serve more than 9,500 residents and school-based clinics that serve thousands of children.

Wynn called on Duke employees to give generously this year, saying that he would like to see every Duke employees be a partner in helping meet the needs those in the community, especially during the current economic downturn.

"It is the obligation of those of us who are employed to help those who are suffering," he said.