Inside Duke Medicine

DRAH exceeds goals for United Way campaign, recognized with local and state awards

Duke Raleigh Hospital strives to honor one of its seven values, community, by focusing on involving employees in its annual United Way campaign.

Since 2005, Duke Raleigh's campaign has grown from $3,500 to $66,000 in 2009.

Doug Vinsel, president of Duke Raleigh Hospital, says the campaign and giving back to the community are part of the culture at Duke Raleigh.

Employees feel the same way and look forward to the campaign, Vinsel added.

"Being with an organization that still has a sense of selflessness, that can give back to the community is great," said Will Gaddy, a financial care counselor in DRAH's Emergency Department.

That focus of giving to the community is noticed both in the Triangle and North Carolina.

Duke Raleigh Hospital received the state-wide Spirit of NC Award for running a successful employee campaign for the United Way of the Triangle. Duke Raleigh was honored at the United Way of North Carolina's Annual Meeting on Friday, February 5, 2010 in Pinehurst.

Spirit Awards are designed to recognize companies and their employees that demonstrate campaign excellence and community commitment. A committee of United Way professionals judged more than 70 outstanding submissions from top companies, organizations, governmental entities, healthcare and educational institutions, as well as businesses – large and small.

Organizations and companies were judged on the Standards of Excellence criteria which includes among others leadership giving, volunteerism, employee participation and giving levels, year-round education, corporate support, incentive programs, and campaign rallies. Awards were presented to  25 organizations.

Duke Raleigh will also receive a Triangle award for most innovative campaign on February 25.

“It was very rewarding for the North Carolina United Way to recognize the generosity and giving of the Duke Raleigh staff,” said Adrian Dixon, chair of the United Way campaign for Duke Raleigh. “It's with a heart of thankfulness that we say again to the staff - thanks for making this campaign the best yet and for making a difference in the community we live."

Vinsel said one of the things he is most proud of is that 40 percent of employees participated in the 2009 campaign.

Randy Hall, with Nutrition Services at DRAH, began giving to United Way through the campaign a couple years ago.  He was excited to learn that he could give to the Tammy Lynn Center for children with disabilities, an organization that means a lot to him personally. "There are a few coworkers of mine that I told about the Tammy Lynn Center, and I got them to donate to the center as well."

"The way that we've done this, aside from talking about the organizations that United Way supports, is to make it fun for employees," Vinsel said.

This year's campaign included a luncheon on the lawn kick-off event, a doughnut eating contest, a kiss the pig event, karaoke and a final celebration where Duke Raleigh administrators dressed up as celebrities.

Pat Kramer, director of case management at DRAH and previous chair of the United Way campaign, recalled a memorable moment during last year's campaign when an employee came to the donation table and told her he wanted to double his pledge from last year. "That to me made all of these years worthwhile," she said.

"I'm confident that this will continue to be something that Duke Raleigh participates in widely and actively," Vinsel said. "In a real significant and tangible way, we will continue to give back to the community."