By SUSAN JONES
The Employee Emergency Fund that Staff Council has been working on with the Office of Business & Operations for more than two years has finally come to fruition.
An email this week from James Gallaher, vice chancellor for human resources, said the Employee Emergency Fund will allow eligible Pitt employees from all campuses to apply for financial assistance of up to $1,500 when experiencing an immediate and substantial financial need, such as from a natural disaster, personal emergencies like overdue medical care expenses, essential home repairs which may be caused by a flood, tornado or fire, payment to prevent residence eviction, and essential utility bills that are scheduled to be shut off.
Employees eligible under this policy include full-time and part-time active executive, staff, non-union faculty, research associates, and post doctoral associates. Employees represented by unions should check their collective bargaining agreement for eligibility.
A program overview, eligibility, covered hardships, application process, and list of partners are available on the Office of Human Resources’ website. HR will administer the fund.
“Staff Council is thrilled to see that the Employee Emergency Fund has been officially launched for applications,” the group said in a statement. “It’s a collaborative initiative that Staff Council has led for over 2.5 years.”
The proposal started with former Staff Council member Carolyn Mazella, a post-award sponsored projects administrator for the Departments of Physics and Astronomy, Geology and Environmental Sciences, and part of the Neuroscience Department in the Dietrich School. The need was made even more clear, when Staff Council coordinated a GoFundMe for a staff member who was experiencing a crisis firsthand.
“We are grateful to our University partners who all worked together to bring this idea from proposal to fruition through shared governance,” Staff Council said. “We know there are employees at the University that will benefit from the fund and it’s a great way for members of the University to support and assist each other during unfortunate circumstances. We hope that employees will consider donating to the Emergency Fund to help those in need.”
In January, Staff Council President Lindsay Rodzwicz told Senate Council that the Office of the Senior Vice Chancellor of Business & Operations had provided seed money for the fund. Additional money was raised on Pitt Day of Giving in February. The fund’s goal is to become self-sustaining. The campus community can make donations online through PittGiving to the fund.
Additional funding for the program comes from a venture of the Senior Vice Chancellor of Business & Operations, Staff Council, the Division of Philanthropic & Alumni Engagement, the Office of Human Resources, the University Senate and the Pitt Postdoctoral Association.
Susan Jones is editor of the University Times. Reach her at suejones@pitt.edu or 724-244-4042.
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