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LeAnn Cooksey doesn’t think of herself as a “giver.” In fact, she rarely considers her generosity at all.

She is, nevertheless, a regular contributor to the United Way via pre-tax payroll deductions—a habit begun years ago while working at Cadence Bank in Starkville. After coming to ����ֱ�� State in June 2014, the now treasury services assistant in the university’s Office of the Controller and Treasurer decided to keep going with the practice.

“It comes out of your check, so you don’t really miss it, and United Way supports organizations that assist children, so I like that,” Cooksey said.

Currently, United Way of North Central ����ֱ�� supports more than 20 non-profit area organizations. Among others, they include 4-H, Boy and Girl scouts, Boys and Girls Club of Oktibbeha County, West Point’s Sally Kate Winters Family Services, Salvation Army and Columbus’s Safe Haven Domestic Violence Center.

The 2015-16 United Way fundraising campaign is underway, seeking others like Cooksey who desire to easily contribute through their paychecks or make one-time donations.

A Webster County resident, Cooksey said she enjoys her duties in McArthur Hall, where she assists with disbursements, check generation and the handling of employee W-2 forms.

While the job “isn’t too stressful,” Cooksey admitted her introduction back in January to the office’s production and distribution of hundreds of W-2 forms was “an eye-opener.”

As she explained: “That’s a two- to three-day process; it can be wild!”

While LeAnn Cooksey is relatively new on campus, husband Chris has served for a decade as a network infrastructure technician with Information Technology Services. They are the proud parents of daughter Rebekah, an East Webster School District kindergartner that mom anticipates may be a future Bulldog.

In addition to her many daily routines, LeAnn Cooksey said she has come to enjoy the land-grant institution’s “family-oriented” environment.

“Everybody seems to have a desire to get along, work together and take care of each other,” she said.

To join Cooksey in supporting MSU’s United Way campaign, visit .