CWRU faculty and staff can benefit from donating to local charitable organizations as part of the University's annual Charity Choice campaign.

Employees who pledge at least $52, or $1 a week for the coming year, and whose pledges are received by November 1 will qualify for an early donor raffle. Prizes, donated by the charities featured in the campaign—Community Shares, United Way, Earth Share of Ohio or any specific agencies involved with these umbrella organizations—include overnight stays at Quail Hollow Resort and the Holiday Inn-Westlake, a dinner certificate for Mountain Jack's Restaurant, a pair of Cleveland Orchestra tickets and a one-year membership to the Lake Erie Nature & Science Center.

"Please help raise the resources that are needed by our community to provide critical services to individuals in need of assistance and to ensure that our environment remains protected," President Edward M. Hundert said in a recent e-mail to faculty and staff. "By pledging our support, we confirm the University's commitment to our local community, just as we rely on outside support and the generosity of our alumni, corporations, foundations, government agencies, and friends to help sustain our success."

Campaign materials should have been distributed around October 14, and pledge materials must be returned by November 18.

"In my remarks to groups on and off campus over the past few months, I have frequently mentioned that building a stronger and closer relationship with the Cleveland community is a very high priority for the University," Hundert continued. "I've been pleased to see that so many of you have echoed those sentiments. It is in that spirit that . . . I encourage you all to consider pledging your support to one or more of the three federated charities.

"Let's help these organizations provide important community services by showing 100 percent support from Case Western Reserve University," he added.

Co-chairs for the drive this year are May Wykle, dean and Florence Cellar Professor of Nursing at the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing, and Richard Baznik, vice president for public affairs.

For more information on the campaign, call Lynice Willis at 368-2338.

To learn more about the campaign or the three organizations, visit the Charity Choice Campaign Web site at http://www.cwru.edu/pubaff/charitychoice/ccopeningpg.htm.