With pledge card glitches and minor snafus fixed, the Cornell United Way Campaign surged into high gear with pledges-to-date totaling $413,855 -- an almost sixfold jump from just a month ago.

The campaign is now at 66 percent of its $627,000 goal. United Way of Tompkins County (UWTC) is similarly on a roll with pledges-to-date totaling $1,156,268 -- 62.5 percent of its $1.8 million goal. Contributions to Cornell's campus campaign annually accounts for one-third of the goal set by UWTC.

"We are very encouraged by our progress so far, but we do have a ways to go to get to our goal," said Charles Walcott, dean of the university faculty and chair of the Cornell campaign. "I am especially pleased that even with Cornell's generous response to the several disasters like Katrina and the [Pakistan] earthquake, United Way contributions remain strong. We are all very fortunate to live in such a generous and caring community."

Indeed, the university's leadership role in the county is due in part to the generosity of Cornell staff, faculty and students. But it's also the result of a lot of hard work by key Cornell players who volunteer far more than a pledge to the annual campaign -- both on and off campus. Their efforts start in the spring and intensify as the UWTC campaign takes off in the fall.

The Cornell campaign is assisted by a cabinet of 16 Cornell staff members, including Walcott. They are a devoted group of volunteers who represent a cross-section of Cornell employees. Cabinet members include three former chairs of the Cornell United Way Campaign who serve as advisers: Susan Murphy, vice president for student and academic services; LeNorman Strong, assistant vice president for student and academic services; and Mary Opperman, vice president for human resources.

Other Cornell cabinet members include: Sarah Thomas, the Carl A. Kroch University librarian; Diana LaLonde, executive staff assistant in the Office of the Dean of Faculty and assistant to the campaign chair; Elizabeth Rawlings, wife of President Hunter Rawlings; Karen Brown, office manager of the Campus Life Management Office; Steven Myer, financial analyst, financial affairs; Dennis Stein, Paw Print editor and employee outreach manager, Human Resources; Gary Stewart, assistant director, Community Relations; Cathy Salino, manager of accounting operations, financial affairs; Donna Jenney and Cathy Jenner, finance specialists, Business Service Center; Robin Yager, director of the University Administrative Service Center; and Mike Powers, director of operations, University Communications.

Cornellians also serve on the UWTC executive committee. They include: Murphy; John Alexander, president of CBORD Group and a Cornell trustee; and Eugenia Barnaba, senior extension associate in crop and soil sciences. Other Cornell-affiliated members of the county's board include: Strong; Rev. Kenneth Clarke, director, Cornell United Religious Work; and Donna Green, administrative assistant in the College of Veterinary Medicine.

United Way raises money to support more than 100 local programs through 30 member and affiliated agencies and 11 community councils designed to meet critical needs in the local community.

United Way pledges can be paid through payroll deduction or with a check or credit card. For more information, visit the UWTC Web site at http://www.uwtc.org or Cornell's United Way Web site, where you also can donate online, at http://www.unitedway.sas.cornell.edu/ .