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MCC Daily Tribune Archive

President's Wednesday Message


Welcome back!  Each year, this is a week like no other in its intensity, and I appreciate all the extra time, effort, and—perhaps most of all—patience you bring to the start of fall.  Thank you!!

Given all that’s going on, I doubt anyone has time to read a lengthy Wednesday Message this week, so I’ll be brief.

Last year, several of you suggested that it would be wonderful if MCC as a whole could adopt a practice already in place in several offices:  faculty and staff are encouraged to make donations to charities in exchange for the opportunity to dress more casually on some Fridays.  When I heard this suggestion multiple times from multiple offices, it was clear folks were on to something.  This simple activity seemed like a great way to accomplish a great deal:  (1) raise awareness of the agencies and the people they serve, especially since so many at MCC have benefited from the services they offer; (2) increase the college-community connection that’s at the heart of our mission; and (3) raise much needed funds for the valuable work of these non-profit agencies by leveraging many small donations. 

Then, after All College Day, I received another suggestion:  could we build on the community spirit created at All College Day by encouraging faculty and staff to wear black and gold on Fridays?  It helps that I now know from the attire on display last Thursday that most of you have some college colors hiding in your closets, whether it’s official college gear or the gold sweater with the cute floral applique bought last Thursday at Old Navy. (Note: this is a *completely* hypothetical example.)

All of this is leading to an announcement of the pilot year for MCC’s Community Fridays for a Cause.  They will take place on the first Friday of each month.  If you would like to participate, just dress casually—perhaps in black and gold, if the college spirit moves you—in exchange for a small donation to that month’s agency.  The agencies were selected by Human Resources and Organizational Development based on connections to the college community, and they represent a mix of national and local non-profits:

October:
Breast Cancer Coalition of Rochester

November:
American Diabetes Association

December:
Foodlink

February:
American Heart Association

March:
National Kidney Foundation

April:
Rochester Education Foundation

Please know that participation in Community Fridays for a Cause is completely voluntary, and there is no goal of displacing the efforts already underway in departments and offices across the college to raise funds for charitable groups.  If the Friday program is successful in its pilot year, it will continue, likely with a changing cast of agencies based on feedback from the MCC community. I would encourage you to contac
t Martha Maher-Garcia (mmaher-garcia@monroecc.edu) in Human Resources if you have thoughts or ideas for the future.

More specifics on the program, including how to participate and to whom to give your donations, will be forthcoming in the Tribune.

I’d love to hear your thoughts about the Community Fridays, the redesigned All College Day, or anything else about the start of the new academic year.  Let me know on the
President's Wednesday Message blog!

Anne Kress
President's Office
09/08/2010