Charitable Giving Campaign 
A Letter from Dr. Takashi Wada
Dear County employees,
Last year County employees contributed more than $213,000 during the Charitable Giving Campaign! This year I have the pleasure of being the Chair of the Campaign, which kicks off today and runs through October 28th.
The Steering Committee chose to continue the United for Literacy theme again this year because the results from last year’s efforts have made an astonishing impact on our community.
United Way’s partnership with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library enables the parents of every child in Santa Barbara County to receive a free book every month, from birth until kindergarten. Most low-income families do not have a single age-appropriate children’s book in their home. This is a great opportunity for all local families to play a role in the education of their children. Over 800 children in Santa Barbara County are currently benefitting from this program.
Reading Plus is a computer based program that uses innovative technology to provide individualized silent reading lessons for students in 2nd grade and higher. The results of this program have been record-breaking - in just 7 weeks 82% of children gained 2.1 reading levels! Children in 30 schools throughout Carpinteria, Goleta, Lompoc, Montecito, Santa Barbara, Santa Maria, Santa Ynez, Orcutt, and Vandenberg now have access to this program.
Your donations during the Charitable Giving Campaign enable United Way to expand and improve programs like these. This is a great opportunity to ensure these programs reach the maximum number of children in the upcoming year. Please consider joining me in supporting this year’s campaign through payroll deduction. People throughout our county will benefit from your generosity.
You can access the pledging site by clicking here. The campaign code is: county2011. Your login for the online pledging system is your employee ID number. Your password for our online pledging system has been mailed to you.
This year we have many fun and exciting raffle prizes that will be awarded to County employees. An updated list of prizes will be provided to your Department Representative weekly throughout the campaign. Donors will be automatically entered when they make a pledge during the campaign. Continuous donors will automatically be entered. Prizes will be drawn weekly, so the sooner you turn in your pledge form, the more chances you have to win!
Thank you for all the contributions of time and donations that you have made throughout the past year. We look forward to having another successful year in 2011!
Sincerely,
Dr. Takashi Wada
Director, Public Health
2011 Charitable Giving Campaign Chair