The Northern community is working together to aid the United Way, an organization which provides services and basic needs with the help of volunteers and contributions.

The workplace campaign at Northern for the Marquette United Way, made up of faculty, staff, and retiree contributions, has raised about 96 percent of its goal of $35,000 since its start in early October. These contributions go to agencies such as the Salvation Army, Big Brothers Big Sisters, the American Red Cross and the Negaunee Senior Center. All of the money raised stays in Marquette.

Students have also come together to raise money for Marquette’s United Way with a club called the Student United Way. The club was established after doing a similar service project for the United Way as a part of the Student Fellow Leadership Program.

“Right now, we’re trying to get involved in the community,” said Lauren Veale, junior elementary education major, and the founder and president of the club.

They are also beginning to organize fundraisers and volunteer service projects. Currently, students are selling Culvers cards and will be wrapping gifts at the mall during the holiday season. According to Veale, they hope to have a bake sale at the end of fall semester and do a major fundraiser for the United Way next semester.

Overall, Veale and NMU faculty are optimistic about the success of the Student United Way.

There is a national conference for the United Way which members hope to eventually participate in.

“It’s great to see how they’re all getting involved and all learning. We hope to have a more solid group membership in the future,” said Veale.

NMU faculty members have been excited and helpful to bounce ideas off of for the Student United Way, according to Veale.

Art Gischia, the associate vice president of business and auxiliary services, is the workplace coordinator of NMU’s Student United Way. His role includes going out on a weekly basis to speak to labor groups on campus about the organization, distributing pledge forms for contributions and answering questions about where the money goes.

“It’s nice to see people come together, as tight as the economy is. The Northern community has been very generous,” Gischia said.

He is proud of the members of the Student United Way and feels that there is much to be gained by participating in volunteer services.

“A campaign like this really opens your eyes to other opportunities,” Gischia said. “It’ll show its benefits in the years to come, both for the volunteers and contributors and those being helped.”

An equally supportive person is NMU president Dr. Les Wong, co-chair of the Student United Way, along with his wife, Phyllis.

As a recent project, the Wongs donated two laptops to the Jacobetti Veteran Center, a participating agency. Members of NMU’s Student United Way have been teaching veterans how to do simple things like sending their first e-mails to grandchildren.

“It was just a heartwarming thing,” said Wong.

He is impressed with the success of the Student United Way so far and plans to continue supporting it in the future by making personal contributions and continuing his role as a co-chair.

“I think it’s going to pick up a lot of momentum,” said Wong. “The students deserve an incredible amount of credit for what they’re doing. I think it reflects Northern students in general.”

There are many ways students can get involved, from the planning process to volunteer work. Interested students should e-mail [email protected].