HARRISBURG – State employees have pledged nearly $3 million to more than 1,000 charitable organizations through the annual State Employee Combined Appeal (SECA) campaign.
“The holiday season is a time for helping others, and we are incredibly proud of the generosity and caring shown by our state employees,” said Secretary of Administration Kelly Powell Logan. “The millions of dollars raised will benefit hundreds of worthy causes both here in Pennsylvania and throughout the world.”
Started in 1977, SECA is the commonwealth’s annual charitable giving campaign. This year, more than 16,000 employees from 54 state agencies pledged a total of $2.9 million during the eight-week campaign, which ran from Sept. 9 to Nov. 1, 2013. Employees exceeded last year’s fundraising by more than $143,000.
Nearly 1,800 employees chose to be Leadership Givers, donating the equivalent of a half-hour or one hour of pay per month for a year.
Through SECA, employees can support the participating charities of their choice by making a one-time donation or through bi-weekly payroll deductions. In order to receive donations through SECA, charities must be registered with the Pennsylvania Department of State and meet other program guidelines.
“By participating in SECA, charities gain access to nearly 100,000 eligible donors without having to spend their own funds on outreach efforts,” said Logan. “And because SECA is managed internally by the Office of Administration, we are able to keep administrative costs lower than those of many other charitable organizations.”
“The Governor and I would like to thank our 2013 campaign chair and co-chair, Secretary of Banking and Securities Glenn Moyerand Secretary of General Services Sheri Phillips. Their leadership and enthusiasm were instrumental to the success of this year’s fundraising effort.”