The 2017 Cornell United Way Campaign has passed the halfway mark of its $750,000 goal for the 2016-17 academic year.

In a memo sent earlier this week, campaign co-chairs Andy Noel, the Meakem♦Smith Director of Athletics and Physical Education, and Kathy Zoner, chief of Cornell Police, announced that Cornell had reached 42 percent of that goal. An uptick in pledges has since increased the amount raised to more than 50 percent.

Typically, many Cornell community members give to the United Way during the month of December. Noel and Zoner extended “heartfelt thanks” to those who have contributed thus far, and noted that this time of year “is an especially good time to make a United Way gift in honor of someone you love, which is an increasingly popular holiday option.”

All gifts aid members of the community in need, with the Cornell campaign providing nearly 40 percent of the annual Tompkins County United Way campaign goal. In addition, thousands of Cornellians rely on services from the United Way of Tompkins County, or have at some point in the past.

Through the Cornell United Way campaign:

• A dollar per paycheck can help address a long list of needs in the community. Every dollar given by individuals to the campaign directly benefits programming.
• You can designate your gift to a program or agency of your choice, including any non-member 501(c)(3) health and human service agency, in or outside Tompkins County.
• Giving is easy with Cornell’s online giving system or by using a hard-copy pledge card or by emailing community_relations@cornell.edu.