08 NOVEMBER 00 | Berkeley employees can target donations to hundreds of local or national charitable organizations through the UC Berkeley Charitable Campaign 2000, launched this week by Chancellor Berdahl.

For the third year, the campus has made special arrangements to assure that 100 percent of staff and faculty gifts go directly to the charities they designate. Gifts may be directed to nearly any charitable organization, benefiting health, education, and community outreach and services.

"Our lives are touched every day, in ordinary and unexpected ways, by hundreds of organizations working to make our community better," said Berdahl. "The charitable campaign is our chance to give as a community, to the community."

A campaign packet mailed this week to faculty and staff lists hundreds of organizations to which employees can designate their gifts.

Two programs are especially featured for easy donations: the campus's own Berkeley Pledge, a model educational outreach program for diverse K-12 students, and the United Way Community Impact Fund, which consolidates gifts for organizations working together to solve critical community problems.

Donations may be made directly or spread out over time through payroll deductions.

For information, visit the campaign Web site at www.berkeley.edu/charitable or look for a pledge packet in campus mail.