United Way of South Texas hosted the State Employee Charitable Campaign (SECC) Recognition Ceremony in March. The SECC is the only statutorily-authorized workplace campaign for State of Texas and Higher Education employees. United Way of South Texas has proudly served as the Rio Grande Valley SECC Local Campaign Manager for fourteen years, since 2009. State employees from dozens of agencies have volunteered in different roles to help United Way increase participation and donor investments in the RGV. Thousands have generously donated to ensure that local and statewide non-profit agencies deliver critical support to families.
Top 2022 State Agency and Top Coordinator awards were presented. The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDot) was recognized as the state agency with the Highest Percent Increase. TxDot employees had an outstanding 102 percent increase with a total of $23,870 in donations to the SECC campaign. The University of Texas–Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) was acknowledged as the State Agency, or Higher Education Institution, with the Highest Contributions. UTRGV employees pledged $38,807 towards local, statewide, and national charities through the SECC.
State of Texas employees volunteer to serve on the SECC Local Employee Committee (LEC). The 2022 LEC members were: Hope Noble, TDCJ Retiree; Carmen Amaya, Department of Protective Services; Maria Garza, UTRGV; Gustavo Salinas, Texas Department of Family and Protective Services; Aurora Morales, Texas Department of Transportation; Georgina Marr, STC; Mary Ann Garcia, STC; Gisenia Abad, Texas Office of the Attorney General; Marina Reyna, Texas Health and Human Services Commission. The SECC LEC invites state employees to serve on volunteer committees throughout the year.
Employees from many state agencies contributed $118,400 in 2022. The agencies that participated are as follows: Texas Office of the Attorney General, Comptroller of Public Accounts, Texas Workforce Commission, Department of Public Safety, Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, Health and Human Services Commission, Department of State Health Services, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, Texas Department of Transportation, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley and South Texas College. If you represent a charity or state agency interested in participating in the SECC, please contact Sabrina Lopez at United Way of South Texas at 956-686-6331.
About United Way:
United Way of South Texas invests in programs that address critical services in the areas of Health, Education, Financial Stability, and Safety Net. The organization supports over 21 non-profit agencies in Hidalgo and Starr Counties that serve a minimum of 178,500 local residents annually. Services provided by United Way of South Texas through Partner Agencies include emergency shelter, family violence counseling, character building programs, child victim advocacy, and infant stimulation classes. To learn more, visit www.unitedwayofsotx.org. If you would like to support United Way programs with a monetary donation, you may mail a tax deductible check to United Way of South Texas at P.O. Box 187, McAllen, TX 78505-0187 or pledge online at https://unitedwayofsotx.org/donate-now/. For volunteer opportunities, visit volunteersotx.org.