Fans of University of Tennessee football and supporters of the United Way had a chance to see UT coach Butch Jones, right, on Monday at Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s United Way campaign kickoff. (ORNL photo by Jason Richards)
University of Tennessee football coach Butch Jones helped Oak Ridge National Laboratory kick off this year’s United Way campaign on Monday morning.
“United Way means everything,” Jones said after discussing leadership—and football—with several hundred workers at ORNL. “It’s a great way to give back to your community.”
He said United Way agencies help about 100,000 people in the Knoxville area.
ORNL is already a leading contributor to United Ways in East Tennessee and the top contributor to United Way of Anderson County, and this year the lab hopes to increase its donations.
Last year, the lab raised $926,000 for United Way organizations in the 16 counties where ORNL employees live, said Becky Verastegui, operations director for the ORNL Computing Directorate and chair of the 2013 United Way campaign. The goal this year, she said, is to get 13 percent of those who don’t currently contribute to start donating. Another option is for employees to donate $13 more month, or roughly another $3 per week.
The lab’s 2013 campaign, which has a theme called “Think 13,” started Monday and ends Aug. 30.
Rick Morrow, executive director of United Way of Anderson County, said the local organization will kick off its campaign on July 13 and announce this year’s goal in August. The campaign could end in December.
UWAC officials announced in April that donations were down this year, and they cited challenges in the federal contracting community, including the July 28 security breach at the Y-12 National Security Complex and the later departure of security contractor WSI, among other things.
In April, Morrow and several United Way volunteers said the organization has to diversify its revenue base.
They said they were launching a coordinated media campaign to raise awareness about its roughly three dozen member agencies, which have 51 programs in three core areas: basic human needs, youth development, and senior needs.
On Monday, Morrow said more than 100 companies donate to United Way of Anderson County.
“It’s all about helping individuals and being champions in our community,” said Jones, who was named UT coach in December. He was accompanied on Monday by Vol announcer Bob Kesling.
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