October 10, 2007 — The United Way campaign at Oak Ridge National Laboratory has experienced another record year, raising $916,298 for East Tennessee agencies.
The ORNL total includes employee contributions of more than $825,000, plus a corporate donation of $89,071 by UT-Battelle, the laboratory's managing contractor.
ORNL campaign chair Karen Downer, who was assisted by co-chair Jimmy Stone, expressed appreciation to employees and campaign leaders for their generosity and commitment to their neighbors. "This matters, and it makes a lasting difference," she said. "We are so gratified that we were able to far exceed our goal, exemplifying our campaign theme of Extraordinary Giving by Extraordinary People."
More than 2,300 ORNL employees contributed to the campaign. The number of Leadership Givers--monthly salaried employees who donate at least $1000 or 1.5 percent of their annual salaries, and bargaining-unit and weekly salaried employees who contribute $250 or more--increased by some 24 percent this year, to a total of 401.
Special activities, including a campaign celebration event led by UT men's basketball coach Bruce Pearl, a free throw shooting contest, a breakfast for Leadership Givers featuring remarks by UT women's athletic director Joan Cronan, book fairs, and the popular ORNL International Festival, added more than $16,000 to this year's campaign coffers.
ORNL donations include the following approximate amounts to counties in the region: Anderson, $271,000; Blount, $22,100; Campbell, $10,900; Knox, $377,000; Loudon, $49,500; McMinn, $2,500; Monroe, $5,900; Morgan, $31,400; Rhea, $2,600; Roane, $128,000; Sevier, $4,800; Union, $7,000.
UT-Battelle began managing ORNL for the Department of Energy in April 2000. The corporation has since donated approximately $4 million to United Way and an additional $8 million to area organizations in support of science and math education, economic development and other civic projects.
ORNL is managed by UT-Battelle for the Department of Energy.