• Increase font size
  • Decrease font size
  • Print
  • RSS

    • Employees Care About Pima County (ECAP)

    Join the 53rd annual ECAP charitable campaign

    Lesher video 
    County Administrator Jan Lesher discusses the importance of ECAP.
    Pima County's 53rd annual ECAP campaign will be held from Sept. 14 through Dec. 16, 2022.

    “Year after year, Pima County employees have demonstrated that they love their community and want to see it improve and thrive," said County Administrator Jan Lesher. "Through the Employees Care About Pima County charitable campaign, our wonderful employees turn that love into action, helping dozens of nonprofit agencies make a difference in the lives of countless people.

    “I once again encourage Pima County employees to give generously. Every donation will make our community a better place to live.”

    Giving is completely voluntary. Your pledge can either be a one-time gift or made through payroll deductions. Last year, ECAP raised more than $270,000 for nonprofit and charitable organizations in the community. This year's goal is to raise at least $300,000, so let's show our support for the community.

    All charitable agencies who are partnering with ECAP are hoping that Pima County employees continue to open their hearts with their support. An agency guide, agency videos and pledge forms will be available throughout the campaign on this ECAP webpage.

    Every county department has coordinators and solicitors who are your points of contact throughout the campaign. They will have a training manual available to them so that they can assist you with questions, concerns or issues. They will also help you complete your pledge form electronically or on paper.

    If you choose to opt out of making a pledge, submit a paper form to your department coordinator or solicitor with your name, department, employee identification number and check the opt-out box next to the line that says "I do not wish to participate at this time."

    How to donate

    Are you a new employee or did you miss the annual campaign? Simply complete a pledge form and email it to ECAP@pima.gov.

    Giving is completely voluntary. Your pledge can be either a one-time gift or made through payroll deductions.

    The United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona will send all county employees an email with an electronic link on Sept. 14, 2022.
    • If you registered last year, enter your username and password.
    • If you forgot your password, click on the Forgot Password link to reset it. The directions for a reset will arrive via email.
    • If you did not register last year or are a new employee, you must register at the United Way/Pima County ECAP site.
    • Employees will follow that link to register for this year’s campaign.
    • Add a username; business or work email; a password; and confirm password; work email must be used as business email when registering.
    • A confirmation email will be sent from StratusLive to your work email with the subject “Confirm your email address”
    • Click the “Confirm my email address” button; this will take you to your account
    • Click save and return to the United Way/Pima County ECAP site
    • Once you return to the Pima County Giving page, click on “Click to Give Now.”
    • Start your pledge with your contact information. (Please provide your address if it has changed and/or if you would like a physical acknowledgment from the United Way).
    • Questions? See Page 13 of the ECAP training manual.

    ECAP earns Circle of Excellence Award from United Way

    In May 2022, ECAP earned the Circle of Excellence Award from the United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona. ECAP was one of 25 local agencies or organizations honored with the award and was presented with a glass trophy at a United Way awards banquet.
    “This award means a lot to ECAP because it reaffirms the generosity and warmth of Pima County employees and their desire to help the less fortunate, children, seniors and animals,” Cooper said. “This award recognizes the hard work the ECAP committee puts in year-round and especially during the campaign season.”

    The Circle of Excellence Award is given to agencies and organizations whose employees excelled in raising funds for the community’s needs.

    “I am very proud of the committee and applaud their continuing efforts and support of this very important program,” Cooper said. “Without the hard work the ECAP committee puts in and the strong employee engagement throughout the three-month campaign, this effort would not be a success.”

    Learn more about charitable organizations

    All agencies are hoping that Pima County employees continue to open their hearts with their support. An agency guide, agency videos and pledge forms are available throughout the year on the ECAP website.

    Tony Penn

    Ending Poverty Now

    The Ending Poverty Now fund goes to support organizations in the community that are using a curriculum called “Getting Ahead in a Just-Gettin’-By World” to help break the cycle of poverty.

    More information about the program can be found by clicking on the Ending Poverty Now tab below.

    ECAP Information

    ECAP Steering Committee

    The organizing body of the Employees Care About Pima County (ECAP) program sets the direction of the appeal program, promotes its activities and administers and manages the annual employee participation drive in coordination with the United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona. Members come from nearly a dozen County departments large and small. ECAP is the largest and most generous program of its kind in Southern Arizona.
    Judy Cooper
    Judy Cooper, Chair
    Procurement
    Phone: 520-724-3727
    Judy.Cooper@pima.gov
    Joanna Dinan, Vice Chair
    Natural Resources, Parks and Recreation
    Phone: 520-977-0816
    Joanna.Dinan@pima.gov
    		 Dinan

     
     Linda Volkerink
    Linda Volkerink, Secretary
    Information Technology
    Phone: 520-724-7984
    Judy Moses
    Public Library
    Phone: 520-594-5602
    Judy.Moses@pima.gov    		 Judy Moses
    Monica Robinson
    Monica Robinson
    Health
    Phone: 520-724-2854
    Monica.Robinson@pima.gov


    Magda Murtey
    Transportation
    Phone: 520-724-6366
    Magda.Murtey@pima.gov
    		  Magda Murtey

    Bazata
    Bonnie Bazata
    Community & Workforce Development
    Phone: 520-724-3704
    Bonnie.Bazata@pima.gov
    COMMITTEE MEMBERS NOT PICTURED ARE:
    Dalila Perez
    Community & Workforce Development
    Patty Short
    Community & Workforce Development
    724-5112
    Martin Rosales
    Communications
    724-3501
    Sylvia Molina
    Behavioral Health
    724-8211
    Dedra Clark-McGee
    Health
    724-7833
    Dedra.ClarkMcGee@pima.gov
    Arika Wells
    Pima County Attorney's Office
    724-8574
    Arika.Wells@pcao.pima.gov
    Mathew Wells
    Behavioral Health
    724-7834
    		 Michael Bergan
    Wastewater
    724-6421
    Michael.Bergan@pima.gov 

    ECAP Photos

    2022
    ecap UW award  UW big check
    Members of the ECAP Steering Committee pose with Jan Lesher after receiving the Circle of Excellence Award from the United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona. Jeffrey Petrovic, chief development officer for the United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona, receives a ceremonial check from County Administrator Jan Lesher.
     EPN big check  Petrovic speaks
    Bonnie Bazata, left, manager of the county's Ending Poverty Now program, receives a ceremonial check from Jan Lesher. Petrovic speaks at the May 2022 ECAP awards ceremony at the Ellie Towne Flowing Wells Community Center.
     Lesher speaks  awards audience
    County Administrator Jan Lesher addressing the audience at the awards ceremony. About 75 people attended the awards ceremony at the Ellie Towne community center. 
     award trophies  award balloons
    Trophies were given to county departments that outperformed their peers in generating donations.  The 2021-22 ECAP campaign raised slightly more than $270,000 for nonprofits and charitable organizations in the community.

    Ending Poverty Now

    Interfaith Community Services (ICS) is a lead partner with Ending Poverty Now and receives funds from the generous contributions of Pima County employees through ECAP. EPN partners with ICS on three of those programs:

    • Getting Ahead in a Just Getting By World is a 50 hour curriculum that supports people experiencing poverty to take an in-depth look at what causes poverty in their own life and in the community, and then develop a new future story themselves.  
    • RESET provides much longer-term wrap-around supports like classes, financial support, individual coaching EPN classesand more. RESET drew from ICS’ own programming as well as Pima County’s MAMA (Mother’s in Arizona Moving Ahead) program. 
    • The Bridges Financial Management Class is a 20-hour financial management class written by and for people who experience “the end of the money coming before the end of the month.” It’s an interactive, judgment free space where people can get tools to gain control of their finances and connect with financial mentors who are there to coach and share expertise.
    “When people are chronically under-resourced for a long time, it often takes more than just some job leads and a resume to help someone get a job,” said Tina Bommarito, ICS’s Workforce Development Coordinator. “EPN has given us new tools we can use.” 

    When the pandemic hit, ICS responded quickly to the dramatic increase in basic needs, like food boxes.  But they also maintained their programs focused on supporting families to get ahead and achieve self-sufficiency. To make this possible, they transformed their in-person programs to a virtual format. 

    “I was so impressed at ICS’s commitment to continue serving people through the pandemic,” said Bonnie Bazata, EPN program manager. “Making the shift to a virtual format is not easy – as most of us know – but ICS used it as a way to widen their reach and connect with even more people. It’s exciting to see the difference they are making.” 

    “Our goal is to help families move ahead with sustained support -- and these three programs are key to achieving that,” said Lauryn Valladarez, ICS’s Director of Self-Sufficiency Programs. “The EPN program supports us not just with dollars, but with trainings, curriculum support and advice.  We are so grateful for this partnership and for the caring and generous Pima County employees.”

     

    Follow UsShare this page

    Employees Care About Pima County (ECAP)

    150 W. Congress St.
    Fifth Floor
    Tucson, AZ 85701
    Email: ECAP@pima.gov

    Judy Cooper, Chair
    Phone: 520-724-3727
    Judy.Cooper@Pima.Gov

    Joanna Dinan, Vice Chair
    Phone: 520-724-5363
    Email: Joanna.Dinan@Pima.Gov

    Department Home Page
    Department Directory
    Boards, Commissions and Committees