Link Fund Drive: Chapters encouraged to hold book sale in April to benefit the union’s student scholarship fund

A UUPer is encouraging others with extra books on their shelves to donate them to their union which, in turn, will sell them to benefit the Eugene P. Link College Scholarship Trust Fund. Gertrude Butera of SUNY Alfred, an honorary Link fund trustee and the scholarship’s primary fundraiser, is hoping every UUP chapter will host a book sale during April — Link Fund Drive Month. To make it easier, Butera will provide each chapter with peel-and-stick “bookplates,” which chapter Link liaisons will use to label every donation. The books will be sold for either $5 or $10; the higher price tag is for books donated and signed by the author.

“This is an easy way to make a contribution to the Link scholarship fund and to get rid of some books,” Butera said. “It’s an academic exercise and it’s a wonderful activity.”

Chapters can host sidewalk sales or sell directly from their UUP offices, Butera said. She also recommends using chapter Web sites, newsletters and e-mail to advertise the April fundraiser.

The Link scholarship has helped make it possible for more than three dozen SUNY undergraduates to pursue their dreams of a college education.

For more than a decade, UUP has turned to its members to raise money for its scholarship program, which is named after a founding UUP member. Eugene Link, a professor emeritus from SUNY Plattsburgh, continues to play a role in selecting students for the award.

Scholarships of $650, for two semesters a year, are given annually to qualified SUNY students who maintain a 3.75 grade-point average and who exhibit a dedication to the goals of the labor movement.

The fund board of trustees — comprised of the UUP officers and Butera — has authorized various statewide appeals to entice members to contribute. Those included a silent auction, pledge cards inserted in The Voice, giveaways and the sale of limited-edition cards, including this year’s Series IV set of eight blank cards and envelopes that boast an original photograph by UUP President William Scheuerman. The cards are available from UUP for a $5 donation.

Butera reminds members that they can make memorial contributions in honor of family members, colleagues or friends, as well as donate to the scholarship fund as a way to celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, births or adoptions, job promotions, retirements or other commemorative events.

Checks or money orders — payable to the Eugene P. Link College Scholarship Trust Fund — may be sent to the attention of UUP Comptroller Katherine Trudeau, c/o UUP, P.O. Box 15143, Albany, N.Y. 12212-5143. Contributions are tax deductible.

— Karen L. Mattison