Campus News
February 8, 2010
MyEmory launches for gifts from staff
Emory employees are behind all of Emory University and Emory Healthcare’s accomplishments. Now, in addition to contributing their time and talent, Emory employees and retirees are supporting MyEmory, the employee component of the University’s fund-raising effort, Campaign Emory.
Emory University and Emory Healthcare employees and retirees have contributed more than $41 million since Campaign Emory began in September 2005. MyEmory officially launched on Feb. 3.
The goal of MyEmory is to raise $50 million by the end of 2012, and every employee and retiree is encouraged to make a gift, no matter the size. Gifts can support scholarships, patient care, the arts, research, and countless other priorities that will enable Emory to advance among the world’s top universities.
Employees Ginger Cain and Sally Lehr have volunteered to co-chair MyEmory. In addition, each school and unit has a volunteer leader to guide its MyEmory efforts.
Cain, director of public programs for Emory Libraries, has worked at Emory in a variety of roles since graduating from Emory College in 1977. She earned her master’s degree in library science from Emory in 1982.
Cain says employee support for Emory speaks volumes about the donors’ belief in Emory’s vision and mission.
“I want to invest my donor dollars in an institution that matters — an institution that emphasizes ethics and morals in the advancement of its goals. We should believe in where we work, and we should be willing to donate to something we believe in. It makes a tremendous statement for employees to donate to their employer, and the combined impact of our giving, whether we can give a lot or a little, should be a source of pride and inspiration to continue giving,” Cain says.
Lehr, who earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in nursing at the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, is now a clinical associate professor of nursing at the school.
“I believe that being a part of Emory is a privilege, and it would be hard to find more wonderful colleagues and students anywhere. I give to organizations I value, and Emory is at the top of my list. I work here, my heart is here, and my money goes where my heart is,” Lehr says.
MyEmory offers the University’s employees and retirees a powerful way to make a difference in the world by helping Emory reach out to more communities and take on a growing number of challenges, says President Jim Wagner.
Wagner and his cabinet members have provided gifts and pledges over the course of the campaign to priorities across the University. The president and his cabinet already have contributed $500,000, primarily supporting student aid.
“All of us at Emory have been blessed in countless ways, so it’s appropriate for our community to have a culture of philanthropy — a habit of giving to those areas that appeal to our compassion and generosity,” Wagner says. “It is very gratifying to see University leaders demonstrate their commitment by giving back to Emory.”
