Why Give?
Why do people choose to contribute their time and resources to Duke Doing Good? The reasons are as varied as the schools, nonprofits and neighborhoods that benefit from these gifts.
Jennifer Chamberlain
DG giving category: United Way
Why do you give?
I specifically align my gift to the United Way. I do that because growing up, our family benefited from United Way agencies, so making a contribution now is my way of giving back for what we were able to benefit from – my brother received services since he was an infant.
I grew up in Greensboro, and before that we lived in Florida. My brother has always received some type of service through The Arc (a national organization that advocates for and serves people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families). When my brother was an infant and we were in Florida, he was actually The Arc poster child for their campaign, and my mom worked for The Arc down there in Clearwater. Then when we moved up to Greensboro, he was always involved in activities and my mom worked for The Arc for a while. She served on the board and has off and on for years. I worked at a camp, a day camp, when I was in high school that was in conjunction with The Arc.
Five to seven years ago, The Arc started a company called ArcBARKS, where they make dog treats, and it’s become a really great funding stream for The Arc. So I’m able to allocate part of my donation to go directly to ArcBARKS through United Way.
What does it mean to you to be a part of Duke Doing Good in the Neighborhood?
I think it’s important for us all to support everyone around us. To be part of an organization like Duke that’s this big, and then to be able to give back either financially or through time and service, it’s just about being part of a community.