The annual CUNY Campaign for Voluntary Charitable Giving is under way, and I write to encourage you to participate.

This important fund-raising effort offers each of us an opportunity to contribute to any of more than nine hundred social service, health, and educational organizations serving the city, the nation, and the world. Closer to home, the campaign also includes CUNY named scholarship funds and the Brooklyn College Foundation.

The University and the College are committed to improving the quality of life for all New Yorkers. Your donation to the CUNY Campaign is particularly significant at this time. Homeless families, abused children, elderly shut-ins, and students at risk of dropping out of school are among the people helped each year by the support received from the CUNY Campaign.

But people with serious problems are not the only ones who benefit from the campaign. If you have used your local recreation association, if your parents participate in activities at the neighborhood senior citizens center, or if your child attends a daycare center or after-school program, chances are your life is a little better thanks to the CUNY Campaign.

There is one essential ingredient that enables the CUNY Campaign to support the many valuable human and community development programs serving your area, the nation, and the world: your contribution.

How much you contribute is a personal decision. Our goal is to gain the participation of as many members of the faculty, staff, and administration as possible. If you choose the payroll deduction option, your gift will be taken out of your paycheck in equal amounts during the year. Those small donations add up to great benefits for many people. If you already donate to the Brooklyn College Foundation (BCF), I urge you to do so through the CUNY Campaign so that your contribution may benefit both the BCF and the College's campaign effort.

Connie DiGeronimo, from Institutional Advancement, serves as this year's Brooklyn College campaign coordinator. She will send you information about the campaign, along with a brochure that lists the many participating charitable organizations included.

I'm convinced that our contributions—yours and mine—can make a difference. Please be as generous as you can.

Sincerely,

Christoph M. Kimmich