Florida A&M’s United Way campaign came to a close on Monday after seven months of receiving generous donations.
The United Way campaign is a non-profit organization that receives donations and distributes them through different facets of the community.
Funds raised from FAMU’s United Way campaign help support community programs such as the Boys & Girls club, free tax and legal services and ‘reading pals.’ ‘Reading pals’ is a mentoring initiative that asks members of the community to go out and read at local elementary schools to increase readership among school-aged children.
FAMU’s campaign is integral to the development of the Tallahassee community. “We are living up to our motto of excellence with caring and we are in the middle of Bond [Elementary] and our own developmental research school. Distinguished faculty, deans, professors, administration and the student body as a whole are always trying to meet the needs of those who may not be able to sustain themselves,” said Ryan Kornegay, 20, a food science student from Greenville, Fla.
Kornegay serves as the student chair to the university president’s United Way campaign. He along with Larry Robinson, FAMU’s Interim president, and Ramon Alexander, university chair execute, execute initiatives on behalf of the United Way for FAMU campaign.
The committee has high hopes for a large amount for the campaign, which started in September and ended on Monday, March 3, though the amount raised is not yet known.
In the past FAMU has raised more than $46,000 toward the campaign.
Kornegay was appointed the position during the fall of 2013 and, he already has plans for the campaign to evolve next year.
“I would like the evolutions of the campaign to be centered around aspects of FAMU that we are all familiar with while also including more participation from the student government association, clubs and organizations and competitions between schools and colleges,” said Kornegay
FAMU’s board of trustees recently appointed Dr. Elmira Mangum as the university’s 11th president. Kornegay looks forward to working with her. “I’m excited to see the avenue in which she takes because from my research I’ve noticed she is a big advocate for the campaign and reaching back to the community. We have no future if we do not take the time to reach back and help those behind us along the way,” said Kornegay