October 27, 2008

L&C wins Best in Trade award, Duntley shares why

Over the past 12 years, through both prosperous and lean economic times, our campus community’s charitable giving has increased.

Over the past 12 years, through both prosperous and lean economic times, our campus community’s charitable giving has increased. Here, Mark Duntley, dean of the Chapel and coordinator of the annual Charitable Giving Campaign, shares his perspective on why our staff and faculty have generously opened their wallets year after year to make Lewis & Clark the regional leader in charitable giving among institutions of higher education.

During my tenure at Lewis & Clark, our community has consistently shown its unconditional generosity. When tragedy strikes, we come to each other’s aid.

When a fellow staff person became seriously ill, colleagues were quick to step up, wanting to help with meals, rides to the doctor, or any other needed assistance.

When a student fell from a residence hall window a number of years ago and was near death, the undergraduate community rallied to donate gallons of blood for his treatment.

When a Copeland Hall custodian died tragically in a car crash and her family couldn’t afford to pay the funeral home expenses, faculty, staff, and students contributed enough funds to cover those costs and have her remains returned by a commercial airline flight to her grateful family in Central America.

Yet it is not only these extraordinary circumstances that spark the spirit of giving.

I have seen a consistent willingness to give in general, just for the good of giving. Such giving doesn’t seem to need a special justification, but springs out of a real interest to just help make things better.

Almost everyone I know here at Lewis & Clark has at least one, if not many, charitable causes that they want to support with either their time or their monetary resources.

Last year, the United Way of the Columbia-Willamette awarded Lewis & Clark its “Best in Trade” award. This award is given to the educational institution that demonstrates an outstanding commitment to giving. Of all the schools, colleges, and universities that participated in the United Way campaign for 2007, Lewis & Clark was singled out as the best and most generous at giving.

I was not surprised by this award. Representatives from United Way, Black United Fund, and Earth Share have been telling me for years that our patterns of charitable giving exceed our sister schools, and that they wish every school would give like Lewis & Clark does.

With this year’s Charitable Giving Campaign, “Giving Transforms our Future,” staff and faculty have the opportunity to build on this legacy. Our giving is more necessary than ever to help meet the many social service, health, and environmental needs that our wider community faces.

This year’s annual Charitable Giving Campaign runs October 27 through November 26. Contribution information and donation forms will be distributed to employees in campus mail.