October 2, 2008 — Officials at Oak Ridge National Laboratory announced today that one of East Tennessee's largest United Way campaigns has topped $1 million.
Individual donations from more than 2,300 ORNL employees raised a record $890,000 for area United Way agencies. A corporate donation by UT-Battelle, the laboratory's managing contractor, pushed the total above $1 million.
The ORNL campaign also included a record 472 leadership givers. Leadership givers are salaried employees who donate at least $1,000 or 1.5 percent of their annual salaries or bargaining unit employees who contribute $250 or more.
ORNL Campaign Chair Jimmy Stone praised laboratory employees, many of whom either gave for the first time or increased their donations to the campaign.
"This is a fantastic commitment in a difficult economic period, both in terms of the number of employees who gave and the amounts they pledged to help their neighbors," Stone said. "We always believed a million-dollar campaign was possible, but to actually hit the mark is terrific news for the community."
The ORNL campaign kicked off in August with a visit by Lady Vols Coach Pat Summitt, who presided over a free-throw shooting contest. Campaign events included a book fair, a silent auction, a breakfast for leadership givers that featured remarks by Knoxville businessman Jim Haslam, and the popular ORNL International Festival that added more than $16,000 to this year's campaign coffers.
UT-Battelle began managing ORNL for the Department of Energy in April 2000. The corporation has since donated more than $5 million to United Way and an additional $9 million to area organizations in support of science and math education, economic development, and other civic projects.