Virginia Tech has again joined the rest of the state in launching the 2006 Commonwealth of Virginia Campaign (CVC)--the statewide charitable giving campaign that last year drew record contributions from university faculty and staff. The theme of this year's campaign, announced at a kickoff luncheon at The Inn at Virginia Tech on Sept. 21, is "Caring + Sharing = Hope." The campus kickoff event was attended by over 100 department representatives and representatives from more than 20 local charities.

"We're focusing our efforts this year on continuing the momentum from our very successful campaign in 2005." said Steve Mouras, Virginia Tech's campaign chair. Last year Virginia Tech faculty and staff contributed over $240,000 to the CVC campaign and another $20,000 for Hurricane Relief (sponsored by CVC). This marked an all-time high for the university.

This year's CVC campaign runs from October 1 through December 8, and is the only state-supported charitable-giving program for state employees. The program provides a unique opportunity for state employees to contribute to more than 1,400 charities to assist others in their neighborhoods, throughout the Commonwealth, and across the nation. Participating employees may designate their gift to a specific charity (or multiple charities), to all the charities in their part of the state, or to all the charities in the campaign. Statewide, in the 2005 campaign, more than 22,000 employees gave a record $4.4 million, including over $502,000 designated to the Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund.

This year’s honorary spokesperson for the Virginia Tech kickoff was Vice-President for Development and University Relations, Elizabeth Flanagan, who challenged volunteers to surpass this year's goal of $250,000. Flanagan said that asking people to support charitable causes is not only a noble calling, but is in keeping with the service-oriented mission of the university. "We want the faculty and staff of Virginia Tech to be able to recognize how their charitable contribution will actually make a difference right here, in our local community," Flanagan said.

For more information about the university's role in the CVC initiative, including detailed lists of the participating charities, click here. For additional information about the statewide CVC program, click here.

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