Torchbearer Resources
Important Definitions
Texas State Employee Charitable Campaign (SECC) - one of the largest state employee campaigns in the nation in which Texas agency and higher education employees contribute to provide aid to charity organizations in their communities.
²ÝÝ®´«Ã½¹ÙÍøÏÂÔØ State Employee Charitable Campaign - The local level of SECC in which Texas Woman’s University staff and faculty contribute donations. The campaign is organized by a steering committee and events and programming is used to encourage donations.
SECC Co-Chairs - The staff/faculty at ²ÝÝ®´«Ã½¹ÙÍøÏÂÔØ that guide the steering committee in development of the campaign programming and procedures.
SECC Steering Committee - The ²ÝÝ®´«Ã½¹ÙÍøÏÂÔØ staff/faculty that plan and execute the campaign programming and promote the campaign to the campus
SECC Torchbearers - Members of offices/departments/units that serve as liaisons between the SECC Steering Committee and their office/department/unit who promote the campaign to their constituents and promote involvement in SECC Programming and encourage donations to the cause.
Important People
SECC Co-Chairs
- Anthony Nel - anel@twu.edu - 940-898-3681
- David Rylander - drylander@twu.edu - 940-898-2106
- Kelsey Zemler - kzemler@twu.edu - 940-898-3027
SECC Coordinator
- Nora Sierra - nsierra@twu.edu - 940-898-3352
Torchbearer Guidelines
Dos
- Maintain positivity about the campaign and the events
- Encourage participation in the events
- Encourage donations and payroll deductions
Don'ts
- You are not able to force or coerce people to donate or participate in events. You can only encourage them.
- You cannot tell people which charities to donate to or how much to donate
- You cannot open or review donation forms.
Recommended Torchbearer Practices
Constant Communication
- Keep your unit informed on the campaign and the events
- Utilize email, flyers, notes, message boards, and other department communication methods (Teams, Ring Central, Slack, etc.)
- Don't be afraid to drop into colleagues offices and chat about SECC
Encourage Involvement
- Encourage involvement in campaign events - try to get representation for your department at each of the events
- Attend campaign events with your unit/department
- Form a team for Tri-Ballathon/create a signup document for your department to ensure everyone is participating
- Volunteer to assist with SECC events. A signup for assistance may be distributed by a steering committee member or a co-chair.
Managing Donation Forms
Distribute and track donation forms for each member of your department. A recommended tracking option is below.
- Create a list of everyone in your department/unit
- Make a donation packet for each member
- Instructions
- Donation form
- Pre-labeled envelope
- Distribute packets to each person
- Collect envelopes from each person and track envelope collection on your roster. Follow up with those who have not turned in their envelope.
- Those who do not want to donate, can simply turn in a blank form inside their envelope
- Send/Deliver the sealed envelopes (marked confidential) to Nora Sierra in ACT 10th Floor by October 31st, 2024
Additional Resources
If you have questions or suggestions about being a successful torchbearer, please contact Anthony Nel at anel@twu.edu.
Page last updated 2:56 PM, September 18, 2025