Several members of the Cornell community are playing key roles in the 1999 United Way of Tompkins County campaign on and off campus. Their efforts, which started last spring, are aimed at raising $1.75 million this fall. About $530,000 of that will come from the Cornell campus campaign, which includes employees, retirees and students.

Mary George Opperman, Cornell vice president for human resources, is chairing the United Way campaign on campus. Vice chair of the campus campaign is LeNorman Strong, assistant vice president for student and academic services.

Thomas LiVigne, real estate manager at Cornell, is president of the board of directors of United Way of Tompkins County, Gary Woloszyn, general manager of Wegman's, is general campaign chair for the countywide campaign.

Plans are under way to kick off the campaign in the coming week. "We'll be launching the Cornell campaign with a Day of Caring that will involve Cornell volunteers working at United Way member agencies for the day," Opperman said. As many as 85 Cornell employees are expected to volunteer throughout Tompkins County for the third annual Day of Caring, Wednesday, Sept. 15.

The campus campaign cabinet comprises a cross section of Cornell employees. They include: Dana Roth, executive staff assistant, Office of Human Resources; Karen Brown, administrative assistant, Campus Life management office; Robin Yager, manager of the Administrative Service Center; Philip Dankert, librarian, School of Industrial and Labor Relations; John McKeown, director of the Year 2000 Office; Janiece Bacon Oblak, assistant dean of admissions and financial aid for recognition programs and director of the Cornell Tradition; Frederick A. Rogers, senior vice president and chief financial officer; Judith Small, associate director, Office of Undergraduate Admissions; Patricia Snopkowski, associate audit director, Office of the University

Controller; Dennis Stein, employee outreach manager, Office of Human Resources; David Stewart, director, Community Relations; Susan Lang, senior science writer, Cornell News Service; Laura Toy, director of college, unit and project development, Division of Alumni Affairs and Development; Latarsha Williams, admissions counselor, Office of Undergraduate Admissions; and Patty Ard, executive staff assistant, Student and Academic Services. Also serving on the campus campaign cabinet is Elizabeth Trapnell Rawlings, wife of Cornell President Hunter Rawlings.

Opperman said the United Way effort is an organized effort to raise money to support more than 100 local programs through 29 member agencies and 10 community councils that are designed to meet critical needs in the community.

"The United Way provides services to people who need a helping hand at critical times in their lives. An important human quality is to be able to reach back and lend a hand to someone in need," she said. "We never know when in our own lives we may be the one who needs such a hand."

Opperman added, "It is in the joining of our hands and the faith that we will be there for one another — whether we are reaching back to help or reaching forward for support — that we create a true community."

Over the next several weeks, campus publications will provide information about how money is raised and put to use and how to make a donation, Opperman said. "Participants may specifically designate to which agency they want their contribution to go. We hope people come to understand how their participation makes a real difference in our quality of life and will want to get involved and be part of this community effort," she said.