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USC fundraising campaign regains momentum after Sept. 11 attacks BY KEVIN FELLNER THE GAMECOCK After a temporary setback the week af ter Sept. 11, USC’s fundraising campaign is back on track. An overflow of support for relief efforts has caused some charitable causes to be overlooked, but August Krickel, USC’s Annual Fund’s call center supervisor, said that isn’t the case for USC’s annual fundraising campaigns, which solicit pri vate donations from USC alumni. “The people in the Southeastern part of the country, where the bulk of USC alum ni are located, are still being very gener ous,” Krickel said. “They’re not forgetting Carolina at all.” Krickel said donations to the university slowed when the fundraising office tem porarily discontinued phone solicitations the week after Sept. 11. He said the Annual 5 Fund was nearing $300,000 in total dona tions at last count. “I’m very pleased about it. but, obviously, if we had not taken a week off, we might have taken in another $50 (thousand) to $100,000 on top of that because it was a prime week for calling,” Krickel said. Annual Fund Director Dawn Pompeii said temporarily discontinuing phone calls is standard procedure after a national tragedy. She said, “We went a whole week without calling out of courtesy for all Americans because we thought this was so far-reaching that we didn’t want someone to be offended by our call.” ' USC’s call center still isn’t calling cer tain area codes in and around New York City and Washington, D.C. Pompeii said the volume and frequency of phone calls differ from year to year, so it’s hard to tell how the university has fared until the end of the yearlong campaign. “I think what we’re going to see is an overall tendency for people to give less and divide their loyalties,” Pompeii said. The cam paign starts over every June. Pompeii said if the Annual Fund does n’t get as much money this year as in pre vious years, it doesn’t necessarily mean that people are donating all their money to other charities and can’t afford to donate to USC. “It’s hard to draw hard-and-fast conclusions from a database of 180,000 people,” Pompeii said. “It’s hard to know someone’s motives for donating." The Carolina Alumni Association helps raise funds for some USC scholarships. Its funds, however, are mostly based on mem bership fees, according to Assistant Executive Director Mary Ruffmchilds. She said donations to the alumni association haven’t decreased significantly “We’re pret- . ty much holding steady right now,” she said, “although it’s not an ongoing process for us.” The Carolina Alumni Association has. different campaigns throughout the year to raise funds, unlike the university’s contin uous Annual Fund. The association also temporarily stopped seeking donations the week after Sept. 11. But Ruffinchilds said total donations are now at a normal level. She said: “I think people value the sense of belonging right now. I think people want to feel close to their alma mater.” STUDENT HEALTH SERVICES WELCOMES use PAREN We are here for only one reason, to help your son or daughter maintain a healthy mind, body and spirit while attending the University of South Carolina. services we proving inciune... • Health and Wellness Programs • Counseling and Human Development Center • General Medicine Clinic •Women's Care Clinic • Immunizations (including Meningococcal vaccine! • Pharmacy •X-Ray •Diagnostic Laboratory • Physical Therapy, Orthopedics, Sports Medecine and more. •Travel Clinic If you need information or have questions, please feel free to call (803) 777-3175 during operating hours Monday - Friday 8:30am - 4:30pm. Also visit our webpage at http://www.sa.sc.edu/tshc.