Staff and Faculty Share What It Means to Give to Doing Good
Annual staff and faculty giving campaign has goal of raising $650,000 for community-identified needs in 2021-22
Duke staff and faculty have helped bring positive change to the community by contributing to Doing Good, Duke’s annual employee giving campaign.
The campaign, which encourages Duke University and Duke University Health System staff and faculty to donate to a variety of community-identified needs, is wrapping up its October appeal, but the campaign runs through May 31, 2022, and employees can give anytime.
Staff and faculty can choose where they’d like their tax-deductible donation to go in the 2021-22 campaign, which has a $650,000 target. Choose among six categories: neighborhoods and housing, health, education, employment, communities, or the United Way of the Greater Triangle.
Employees can participate through the Duke@Work portal by making a one-time or recurring donation through payroll deduction, among other options.
Doing Good Employee Giving Funded Partner
Syretta Hill
Executive Director, StepUp Durham
Ties between StepUp and Duke run deep. Duke assisted with its start-up six years ago, Duke representatives serve on its board and committees, Duke Divinity students serve as interns each year and Sanford’s Hart Leadership Program has collaborated on planning.
“When people give $5 or $20, we have this belief in collective impact," Syretta Hill said. "Because we work with so many organizations to address a continuum of needs, their dollar can go further. Funding allows us to be innovative, while also providing sustainability. It has allowed us to think beyond just programming, because we work with people really deeply.”
What It Means to Give
Sabrina Lamar
Administrative Assistant to Director,
Center for Advanced Hindsight
Sabrina Lamar holds up the Burt’s Bees gift basket she won in a weekly drawing for Doing Good employee giving donors in October. Lamar likes to connect her giving with her service interests in education and community nonprofits.
“This is an opportunity to donate at the intersection of Duke and Durham communities. When you join others in an initiative (like Doing Good), even in a small way, you feel a part of the community. When we come together, we can make a difference.”
Fang-Fang Yin
Professor in Radiation Oncology
Fang-Fang Yin's work involves patient care, research and education. He said for him, everything related to people's well-being is important.
"The Duke mission is not just for campus, it’s for neighborhoods and community. We need to build success for communities, which means success for Duke. It is a critical and challenging time. The community needs it more now (due to COVID). So if possible, I think people should give more or for the first time. We definitely need to do everything we can.”
Katie Galbraith
President, Duke Regional Hospital
Katie Galbraith said the October appeal fits well with the other service and giving activities of Duke Regional employees, like the American Heart Association Heart Walk and the start of holiday giving.
“We impact the health of our community by supporting early childhood, literacy, college and career readiness as well. There are so many organizations that impact drivers of health.”
Gloria Taylor-Neal
Executive Assistant and Office Manager, Office of Audit, Risk and Compliance
Gloria Taylor-Neal said she teamed up with coworkers to encourage Doing Good participation in her office. Her contributions go to education, which is important to her.
"I earmark my contributions toward education because I have two girls who graduated from the public school system. I feel the importance of education since my parents encouraged it and they were denied it in their youth. I am a first generation college graduate, so I feel compelled.”
Ron Evans
Operations Major, Duke Police
Ron Evans has served as his department’s Doing Good employee giving “champion” for four years. Champions share information about Doing Good and bring enthusiasm to their colleagues so they can make informed choices about donating.
“I think it's always good to do good. I know personally people who have benefitted from Doing Good and programs like that. After the year we've been through we need do to do all we can. People have had a tough year…and giving a few dollars will not hurt many of us.”
Leigh Goller
Chief Audit, Risk and Compliance Officer, Office of Audit, Risk and Compliance
Leigh Goller said she designated her funds to emergency relief because she cares about how her neighbors near the coast were impacted. She likes to think about how we can support the community that we work in, commute from or visit in the region to make it the best it can be.
"Duke is an anchor and a beacon in the community and we can be a powerful force for good through collective impact."
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