As of January 10, the MIT community has come through with $263,700 in pledges and donations for the annual United Way of Massachusetts Bay campaign, or 88 percent of the $300,000 goal. The campaign was slated to end on December 31, but donations will be accepted until the end of this month.
So far, the Office of Special Community Services has recorded 1,050 donors, including 61 Leadership Givers who have pledged at least $1,000 apiece. Those donors have contributed a total of $99,545.
Everyone who contributes is automatically entered in a raffle. A drawing will be held on February 14 at a thank-you party for chief solicitors in the Student Center at a time to be announced. Winners will be notified by telephone.
Prizes donated by area businesses include $100 American Express gift cheques; an overnight stay for two at The Inn At Harvard; vouchers for the Regatta Bar at the Charles Hotel and the Sheraton Commander Hotel; tickets to Shear Madness at the Charles Playhouse, Carmen by the Boston Ballet, and performances by the Boston Classical Orchestra and the Handel and Haydn Society; passes to the Topsfield Fair, Plimoth Plantation, Water Country and the New England Aquarium; and Boston Celtics autographed pictures.
CLOTHING DRIVE A WINNER
The campaign's clothing drive in December was very successful, said William Wohlfarth, senior electrical engineer in Physical Plant and a campaign Steering Committee member. "It was a tremendously positive experience. The amount of clothes we collected was just phenomenal," he said. Physical Plant workers delivered an estimated 250-300 large garbage bags of clothes from seven campus drop-off locations to three United Way agencies: CASPAR, Shelter, Inc., and the Salvation Army.
At the shelters, "some of the people volunteered to help unload the truck, and I think they were quite overwhelmed," Mr. Wohlfarth said. "These are the people who are actually going to wear the stuff. You could see tears in a few people's eyes. They couldn't believe that MIT came through in this way."
Other United Way events included the Choralleries concert at Walker Memorial on December 4 and the MIT Bellringers on December 9 in Lobby 7.
Those who would still like to contribute to the United Way campaign but do not have pledge forms should contact their department solicitors or the Office of Special Community Services in Rm 20A-023, x3-7914.
A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on January 15, 1997.
