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Upstate launches $650K United Way Campaign

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Upstate Medical University, the area’s largest employer, will seek to raise $650,000 for the upcoming United Way/Community Giving Campaign that gets under way this month. It’s the largest Community Giving Campaign goal set by Upstate

Last year, Upstate raised more than $609,000 for the campaign; up from $527,947 in 2009.

Campaign co-chairs John McCabe, M.D., Upstate University Hospital chief executive, and Wanda Thompson, Ph.D., Upstate senior vice president for operations, said Upstate’s campaign will have some help, now that more than 800 former employees of Community General Hospital have joined the Upstate team. (Upstate acquired Community General Hospital in July.)

“This is a significant year for us as we welcome our colleagues at Community General to the Upstate family,” McCabe said. “Together, we expect our giving spirit to reach new heights.”

Community outreach and service have been a hallmark of Upstate’s mission. “Supporting the United Way/Community Giving Campaign has always been a priority for Upstate,” said Thompson, who noted that Upstate has raised more than $2.6 million in its campaign over the last five years.

Upstate has been honored numerous times for its beneficent spirit, including the United Way’s Spirit of Caring Award.

Upstate employees have many options for giving, including through payroll deduction and, for the first time, an ePledge program that will provide employees with an electronic pledge card for making their contributions.

In addition to supporting the United Way and Community Giving Campaign, hundreds of Upstate employees and students each year support dozens of human service agencies, including Amaus Free Clinic, Samaritan Center, Salvation Army, Center for New Americans, United Way Christmas Bureau, Vera House, Migrant Clinic, National Kidney Foundation, American Heart Association, and American Cancer Society and many others.

“Upstate understands the importance of cultivating a caring community for the benefit of all,” Thompson said.