Dear colleagues,

I am writing to you to urge you to consider donating to UMBC’s Faculty and Staff fundraising campaign, ear-marking your donation for emergency funds for caregivers.

Work/life balance is always challenging, but as we all know the pandemic has plunged many members of our community into crisis mode, particularly those who are engaged in caregiving. While working from home many of us are taking care of our children who are learning remotely or taking care of elderly family members. Some of us are doing both. This is not always but is often a gendered issue. Faculty members at all ranks have had to put aside their research agendas while caring for children and other family members. This is particularly worrisome for colleagues looking ahead to tenure and promotion. Some wonder how long they can do this and see no light at the end of the tunnel.

I know this because the Faculty Senate collected stories from across the colleges detailing the experiences of faculty caregivers in August 2020. Those stories were appended to a memo that we shared with the administration listing a series of recommendations to alleviate the pressures on caregivers. These recommendations included forming a Caregiving Taskforce, asking the Deans to tell departments to cancel all non-essential service, and setting up a website with resources for caregivers. We also asked the President and the Provost to send a message to the UMBC community that acknowledged the strain that caretakers are under and that promised institutional support.

All of these recommendations have been implemented. There was one other recommendation that we were unable to accomplish: the creation of an emergency fund for faculty and staff caregivers. Until now.

I am delighted to share with you that UMBC has created an opportunity for us to donate to a faculty and staff fundraising campaign, earmarking our contributions for an emergency fund to help caregivers within our community.

Student caregivers have access to the Stay Black and Gold Emergency Fund and are also eligible to apply for federal funds for caregiving through the CARES act. Caregivers who work at UMBC do not currently have access to emergency funds but we can change this. 

Please donate if you can. You can make a one-time gift, or donate via payroll deduction, which allows you to spread your contribution throughout the year. For instance, a contribution of $5.00 per pay period through payroll deduction would add up to an annual gift of $130. When you fill out the giving form simply click on "Other Designation" and write in "Emergency Funds for Faculty and Staff Caregivers."

Thank you for considering supporting the caregivers within our UMBC community.

Orianne Smith

Faculty Senate President