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Welcome
Dear UB friends and colleagues, We launch this year's SEFA campaign just a few short days after the disaster that struck our nation on September 11. More often than not, SEFA has been a time for us to celebrate this university, its commitment to its community, and the way in which our people come together and support each other and the community. This year, it's a sadder time. We are troubled by recent events and anxious about the future. In some respects, however, it is a good time to be kicking off our SEFA campaign, because SEFA is people helping people. Throughout the horrors we have observed in recent days, we've also been uplifted by the kind of commitment, the outpouring of help that has come from firefighters, rescue workers, counselors, volunteers, and people all over the nation and the world. We've seen people across the United States and around the globe speak up to say, "We are all New Yorkers." And that's what the SEFA campaign is truly about. We are all members of this community in Western New York, and we are all part of a great university which has stood up in the last decade to be among the national leaders in terms of our support for this kind of community effort. UB is first among all state agencies in New York and all State University campuses in our contributions to the SEFA campaign. The theme for this year's campaign-"Recipe for Success: UB's Campaign for Community"-calls on us to contribute measures of our compassion, our caring, our commitment and our financial resources to help provide for individuals in need, here in our local community, as well as in our state, nation, and world. If you haven't ever contributed to the campaign, please look through the SEFA booklet provided by your departmental liaison and choose to donate to one or more agencies that hold special meaning for you from among the hundreds supported by SEFA. In the face of compelling needs, we ask all contributors, especially our leading givers, to "kick it up a notch" by increasing their previous year's gift by $2, $5, or $10 per pay period. At this somber time, we can make a statement through our SEFA gifts as to how we are going to come together as Americans, and as citizens of the world to help meet the compelling needs of our community and beyond. I thank you for the support you've given in the past. I urge you, if you can, do it again!
Sincerely,
William R. Greiner
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