SEFA announces 2001-02 goal of $9 billion

Faced with the task of raising money through the State Employees Federated Appeal (SEFA) in turbulent times, the campaign’s co-chairs started the new campaign by talking about how it is more important than ever for New Yorkers to continue to help others.

UUP President William Scheuerman, co-chair of the 2001-02 SEFA campaign, said: “When the going gets tough in New York, we always get going. I can’t stop saying these days I’m proud to be a New Yorker. ... Let’s go out and work and pay tribute to everyone who’s been victimized.”

The SEFA campaign helps to raise money and finance more than 4,000 charities, many of which will need more aid than ever because so many people’s lives have been traumatized by the terrorist attacks on New York, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania.

“It’s abundantly obvious we live with a new standard: before Sept. 11, and after Sept. 11,” said SEFA co-chair Richard Mills, New York’s commissioner of education. “It’s a great relief to have something to work on like SEFA that is so obviously needed right now.”

The co-chairs announced that the goal for the 2001-02 campaign is to raise $9 million, hoping to top the 2000-01 campaign’s record $8.4 million. Participants can use payroll deduction for SEFA. The co-chairs also want to increase participation in SEFA by 5 percent, or 3,400 new donors from throughout the state’s work force.

“It’s important for labor and management to work together,” Scheuerman said.

He and Mills are also featured in a video that focuses on some specific ways in which SEFA helps people. The video was unveiled during the statewide kickoff and it will be shown throughout the state.

Scheuerman also paid a call to the kickoff of the Capital Region campaign in September; just one of many regional kickoffs taking place throughout New York.

“First, we hoped to do better than last year. Then we aspired to do better. Now, given everything that’s happened, we have to do better,” he told the group of regional leaders. “Let’s roll up our sleeves and do the work; there’s a lot at stake this year.”

— Liza Frenette