Monday, May 4, 2020

Dear Colleagues,

Happy Monday! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and got to do something restorative for yourselves. I am reaching out just to you as faculty and staff tonight. This morning I sent an email to our students about federal CARES funds that have just become available for us to disburse directly via our financial aid office. Within just a few hours of my email announcing that the application for CARES funds was open, we had received more than 1000 applications from CSU students in need.

This is sobering, and yet it captures just a sliver of the impact that the COVID-19 crisis has already had on our community, on our country, and on our world. I know that some of you are also struggling with financial challenges right now that were either created or exacerbated by the pandemic. And even those who are not feeling financially precarious likely know someone who is. Many members of our community—faculty, staff, and students—are also dealing with heightened impact of existing physical or mental health concerns that have been exacerbated by this extraordinary situation.

Your university, and your community, is here for you, now and going forward. I know I say that, or words to that effect, every time I reach out. I will continue to reiterate that commitment to all of you, because I believe in it. Tonight, however, I get to provide you with tangible evidence of our commitment to you.

Tomorrow, May 5, is Giving Tuesday Now, a global day of unity in which we are proudly participating by encouraging donations that will directly and immediately help us help our community. We are suggesting donations to Ram Aid for students and to CSU Cares for faculty and staff in need. We have designated funds for our COVID-19 research and for our ventilator testing work that is helping healthcare workers across the state. We are seeking support for those friends and colleagues who are particularly vulnerable right now, including older individuals, international students, and food-insecure families. You can find all of the highlighted CSU funds at the Ramfunder website.

Do I hope that many of you who can give tomorrow will click on this link and give? Of course I do. I know that many of you will. Thank you in advance for your generosity during this difficult time.

But I am not just highlighting Giving Tuesday Now, and the specific role that CSU is playing in this global effort, to raise money to help our community.  I am calling your attention to this initiative because it demonstrates how much we care, and how much we value every member of CSU—not just with words but with dollars when you need them, with food when it’s scarce, with advocacy on your behalf, and with life-saving research that will help us all.

And I am echoing the call to action of the Giving Tuesday Now organization, which urges us all to Join the movement and give – each Tuesday and every day – whether it’s some of your time, a donation, or the power of your voice in your local community. 

You all already live that call to action every day, in your commitment to our students, your colleagues, our community and our state. Thank you.

Warmly,

Joyce