The road to here
For the small team of volunteers that develops and manages UTMB's SECC each year, the weeks around the campaign are a blur. There's a lot of additional work, many deadlines and goals, and it can be stressful. But it's also a labor of love, an opportunity to get creative, try new things, and work for the total benefit of others. Here's a snapshot of some of the work and its results:
SECC 2022: "Do a little Dance, Make a little Pledge"
Disco Fever swept the campus in 2022, in a 1970s-inspired tribute that encouraged people to shake their groove things and make a gift to the SECC. Featuring clips from well-known, sing-along musical hits and a prismatic sticker as a thank you gift, the campaign inspired more than 1,265 generous UTMB employees to support the cause. We raised $358,561 in 2022; statewide, the campaign raised $5 million.
UTMB SECC 2021 "Anything is Possible" Campaign
“Anything is Possible” was our theme in 2021. And we meant it in the typical hopeful and optimistic “we can do anything” way, but we also cast a sardonic wink at the phrase. After a second year of COVID, political craziness, stuck
container ships and collapsing condos, it really did feel like aliens might choose this as the time to say hi, or Bigfoot might be caught (finally!) strolling on East Beach. It wouldn't have surprised us. We (You) raised more than $413K, and over
1,400 of us supported the effort.
UTMB SECC 2020 "Bare Bones" Campaign
2020 - Bare Bones
We were living through some challenging times in 2020: first year of the COVID pandemic, hurricanes and forest fires, economic uncertainty, political turmoil and civil unrest. We didn’t feel our usual State Campaign approach would be appropriate,
but we also recognized 2020 was creating urgent and new needs in our communities. The SECC was a way to help. So we adopted a “bare bones” theme: a compressed timeline and no campaign chair, no pressure and no goal.
Yet, the incredible people of UTMB still raised more than $378,000, placing us among the state's leaders in giving.
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State Employee Charitable Campaign
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State Employee Charitable Campaign
UTMB SECC 2019 "Good Things" Campaign
The 2019 campaign encouraged us to consider our good fortune, and recognize that many of us are blessed to be able to make life a little easier for those in need. It challenged us to work together to do good things for others. The message hit home: nearly 2,500 UTMB employees helped us surpass our goal by more than $30,000, providing more cumulative support than any other institute of higher education or state agency in Texas that year.
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Our four-legged friends love the SECC
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Pack a lunch and pass on the savings
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Mother Nature could use a little of your green
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Your latte could go a long way
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Every family deserves a safe place to call home
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You can lend a helping hand against hunger
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When nature's not being nice, a helping hand helps
UTMB SECC 2018 "SECC Superheroes" Campaign
In 2018, we adopted a superhero theme that was fun and served to acknowledge the everyday heroes among us. The campaign, chaired by Senior Vice President and Dean of Nursing Deborah Jones, kicked off with a mighty "Up, up and away!" and raised just under $525,000--the most from any single university or state agency in Texas that year. Among the highlights was a Halloween costume dress-up day that had the UTMB Universe festooned with colorful characters.
UTMB SECC 2017 "Come Together" Campaign
2017 - Come Together
What a year 2017 was. Campaign planning was under way when Hurricane Harvey surged onto the Texas coast, and the incredible community-wide outpouring of care, love and support reinforced that “Come Together” was the theme for the year. Then, mid-campaign, the Houston Astros gave us another thing to rally around, this one much more fun: a World Series Championship!
As campaign chair Steve Campbell said in his message of thanks, it was another year of generosity and selflessness, one of helping those in need, advancing important causes, and bringing people together to make the world a better place.
UTMB SECC 2016 "Zombies! (or Kittens and Puppies)" Campaign
2016 - Zombies!
Zombies were initially a hard-to-sell concept. But the 2016 campaign overlapped with Halloween, zombies had captured the American imagination, and we promised to use "fun, loveable" zombies. We knew zombies would never appeal to some, so we had a "plan b." James Graham, associate professor of rehabilitation sciences, led the effort that year, which raised more than $590,000 and garnered participation from almost 3,300 employees. In 2016, UTMB Health raised more than any other single university or state agency.
And, if you didn't like zombies, you could enter the zombie free zone of puppies and kittens!
UTMB SECC 2015 "May The Force Be With Us" Campaign
2015 - The Force was with Us
Chief Nursing Officer David Marshall led our Star Wars-inspired campaign in 2015. A new Star Wars film had captured the public imagination, and our biggest creative challenge that year was to develop a theme that reflected the beloved space epic without infringing on copyrighted material. The themes of good vs. evil that featured so prominently in the films were easy to translate to the campaign. We blew by our goal that year as well, raising $542,000, a 4 percent increase from 2014.
UTMB SECC 2014 "Wizard of Oz" Campaign
2014 - We followed the Yellow Brick Road
Chief Information Officer Todd Leach donned an uncomfortable Tin Man costume to help raise more than $520,000 in 2014, beating that year's goal by a handsome sum. The Wizard of Oz theme proved to be a crowd favorite, and it offered a cast of wonderful characters and memorable scenes to support our campaign messaging. The original "Wonderful Wizard of Oz" was a children's novel written in 1900. The MGM film classic followed in 1939.
UTMB SECC 2013 "Lucky 13" Campaign
2013 - Lucky 13
Former School of Nursing Dean Pam Watson may go down as one of the hardest working SECC leaders ever, in a Vegas-inspired campaign that began to move us in a decidedly more creative direction. Watson was a campaign veteran, having served in the role in 2005. Our Lucky 13 year raised more than $460,000 and set what was a new record for participation at UTMB.
