PVM Leader Lends Voice to the “Why I Give” Component of Purdue’s United Way Campaign

Giving is personal. So, several Purdue University faculty and staff are supporting the Purdue United Way Campaign by sharing their personal reasons for why they give. Among those who have provided answers to that question is Purdue Veterinary Medicine faculty member and administrator Dr. Kenitra Hendrix.

Students, staff and faculty know Dr. Hendrix as a clinical professor in the Department of Comparative Pathobiology and the associate dean for the veterinary diagnostic laboratories. But another important dimension of her life involves her commitment to a local organization that played a pivotal role in helping her through a time of personal crisis. The organization is YWCA Greater Lafayette, and the crisis is part of her answer to “Why I Give.”

“Nine years ago, a case advocate in YWCA Greater Lafayette’s Domestic Violence Intervention and Prevention Program (DVIPP) helped me obtain a protective order—giving me the support I needed to safely leave an abusive marriage,” Dr. Hendrix shared. Now she seeks to ensure that the crucial help she received remains available to others in need.

Her commitment to helping others through YWCA Greater Lafayette is expressed in multiple ways, including by giving her time. “I joined the YWCA board of directors in 2023 because I want to help ensure that the services that helped me find my safety and freedom are available for others who need them for many years to come.”

While Dr. Hendrix is glad when people support the Purdue United Way Campaign in any way and with a donation of any amount, her encouragement for people to remember YWCA Greater Lafayette is heartfelt. “If you choose to donate to the United Way campaign, please consider designating part—or all—of your gift to YWCA Greater Lafayette. Your support can help someone else find safety, hope, and a path forward.”

Now three weeks into the Purdue United Way campaign, support for the university’s community-focused fundraising effort is escalating. Already, Purdue Veterinary Medicine is more than half-way to the college’s goal of raising $20,000 for Purdue United Way, with $11,182 contributed. The university as a whole has raised more than $308,500 toward its goal of $700,000.

This year’s theme is “Local Giving. Lasting Impact.” Participation is the key, so peoples’ responses count, whether the choice is to give or to simply indicate that they do not wish to give.

To respond, simply

Click on the link for Purdue United Way
Choose “Give Now” or “I Don’t Wish to Give”
Log in, using your Purdue career account and authentication
If you want to give, select from the options, which include payroll deduction (begins Jan 2026), credit card, or other giving choices.

For instructions to give to your local United Way if you live outside of Greater Lafayette, just contact Angela Pickett, executive assistant to the dean and PVM’s United Way Champion. You can view the list of partner agencies your Purdue United Way campaign donation can support through United Way of Greater Lafayette or United Way of Central Indiana. Click here to view the “Purdue United Way – Why I Give” page.

Writer(s): Kevin Doerr | pvmnews@purdue.edu

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