The United Way of Northeastern New York will be sponsoring a community fair and vendor day on October 11 in the Rensselaer Union lobby. This event is a pilot event for the United Way organization. The community fair is a way for RPI to give back to the Capital Region. This event will foster “communiversity,” which is at the center of many RPI initiatives.
According to James Mulligan, vice president of the United Way of Northeastern New York, “I am excited to have RPI help us at such a high level.” United Way has been working to address the most critical issues facing the Capital Region for the last 80 years through partnerships with the business community, organized labor, and local, state, and federal government affiliate agencies to raise millions of dollars annually in response to community needs.
A national network of more than 1,300 locally governed organizations, United Way works to create lasting positive changes in communities and people’s lives. It engages the community to identify the underlying causes of the most significant local issues, to develop strategies, to pull together financial and human resources to address them, and to measure the results.
Mulligan also commented on how the faculty and staff have come together to give back to the community. He highlighted that the campaign was led by President Shirley Ann Jackson as a co-chair in 2005, and in addition to that, Chuck Carletta, secretary and general counsel of the Institute, is an active board member alongside with the current coordinators and representatives of the 2006 United Way Campaign.
With the head coordinators—Executive Secretary Denise Elwell and business administrator for the Institute, Jesicca Wentworth— leading the committees and campaign, they have accepted vendors to sell crafts or products from their side-businesses. Fifty percent of the profits from the sales will go to the United Way and it is also taking donations from offices.
Students can help out the cause by donating their old cell phones and BlackBerries at the fair. In addition to that, on October 5, from 5–10 pm, 15 percent of all purchases at Pizzeria Uno in Latham will go towards the cause as well.
This is the first year a United Way event is being held at RPI and, according to the committee’s coordinators and representatives, a lot of work and planning has gone into the preparation for the community fair being held. The 2006 Campaign will end with a “thank you” luncheon on November 10.
Until then, however, students are encouraged to donate their old cell phones and check out the community fair on October 11 that will benefit the Capital Region.
