How Supporting the United Way Employee Giving Campaign Makes a Difference in Central New York on the ‘’Cuse Conversations’ Podcast
Syracuse University head men’s basketball coach Jim Boeheim ’66, G’73 and head women’s basketball coach Felisha Legette-Jack ’89 understand the importance of charitable giving, and one of the biggest ways Boeheim and Legette-Jack feel the University community can make a difference in the lives of area residents is through supporting the United Way of Central New York’s employee giving campaign.
The United Way of Central New York has been providing residents with access to essential resources for 100 years, and the University community has supported the United Way’s employee giving campaign for the last 50 years.
With a little more than two weeks remaining in this year’s campaign, there’s still time for University employees to make a gift of any size to support their fellow Central New Yorkers in need. The campaign kicked off on Oct. 14 and runs through Dec. 16.
Given the current state of the economy, including paying more to fill up our cars, heat our homes and put food on the table, Michael Frasciello, dean of the College of Professional Studies, understands that employees could hesitate when asked to open up their wallets and give back to a charity like the United Way.
Frasciello, one of three co-chairs of the University’s campaign, urges all University employees to make a gift of any size to help their neighbors in need this holiday season, as all of the proceeds go directly back into the community.
“Syracuse University has been directly involved with supporting the United Way since 1972 through our annual employee giving. That employee giving has a direct and powerful impact on helping the local community right here in the Central New York region, and is really designed to address the community’s most pressing issues. This is the community we live and work in, and so when we talk about an obligation and responsibility to the community it’s actually, these are our neighbors, these people are us. This includes individuals within the University that benefit from these programs. So I think the commitment to the United Way, if it’s not seamless, it’s almost symbiotic,” Frasciello says.
Frasciello shares why it’s important for University employees to give what they can to help their neighbors, spotlights some of the fun and creative ways employees are supporting this effort, and how all gifts benefit the Central New York community through more than 70 unique and impactful programs and projects offered by the United Way’s 28 nonprofit partners.
Check out episode 122 of the “’Cuse Conversations” podcast featuring Michael Frasciello, dean of the College of Professional Studies. A transcript [PDF] is also available.
