SEFA Campaign Organizers Share Results

02/21/2017 

SUNY Cortland employees contributed $40,607 to the 2016-17 State Employees Federated Appeal (SEFA) campaign.

The only authorized fundraising campaign among New York state workers, SEFA is directed by the United Way of Cortland County and brings together fundraising efforts for a broad group of agencies under one common umbrella. This annual fundraising effort offers SUNY Cortland employees the opportunity to support local, statewide and global charities.

The College, which relies on state employee volunteers to canvas co-workers for donations, kicked off the two-week appeal Oct. 18. Results were tallied recently.

According to the 2016-17 SEFA Campaign co-chairs, Pam Schroeder and Heather Drew, $28,681 of the donations were earmarked to support charities doing important work in Cortland County.

The campaign gives generous support each year to United Way, YWCA of Cortland, Lime Hollow Nature Center, SUNY Cortland Child Care Center and many other local charities, the organizers noted. Donations helped provide aid to victims of violence, support to parenting or pregnancy-risk teens, literacy education for adult learners, scholarships to working parents for quality childcare, and many other essential services.

The other $11,926 was donated to charities such as St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), Doctors Without Borders, and many other worthy charities across New York state and around the world.

In New York, SEFA campaigns also are conducted at the State Department of Labor, the Department of Environmental Conservation, the Department of Transportation, the Office of Court Administration and the State Police. Decisions are made locally about which agencies are included and how funds are distributed. The community-based SEFA committee is composed of representatives from state agencies and managers of human service agencies. Pledging takes place once a year.

Donors may choose to have their gifts shared among different organizations within Cortland County, used in another county of their choice or designated for individual local, state, independent or international organizations.

Schroeder and Drew said they were glad to reach out to the campus community to help make the campaign successful.

“I was honored to co-chair this year’s SEFA campaign, along with Pam,” Drew said. “I would like to thank all the volunteers that helped distribute and gather pledge forms. Your assistance is greatly appreciated. We couldn't do it without you.”

“As a community, Cortland has given back for many years,” SUNY Cortland President Erik J. Bitterbaum said. “I am proud that so many faculty, staff and even students give to the United Way Campaign.”

Local members of the Cortland County SEFA Committee and the employee group represented include: Kathleen Burke, SUNY Cortland United University Professions (UUP) employees; Christella Yonta, federated campaign coordinator for the United Way for Cortland County; Gary Evans, SUNY Cortland management/confidential employees; Laurie Klotz, SUNY Cortland UUP employees; Lois Marshall, NYSDOT, CSEA employees; Donna Raymond, NYSEC, CSEA employees; Antoinette Tiburzi, SUNY Cortland professor emerita, Cortland County SEFA chair; and Lori Porter SUNY Cortland, management/confidential employees.

For more information about SEFA in New York State, visit the website www.sefanys.org.

Prepared by Communications Office writing intern Alexandra Savini