By Eric Parris
Fort Carson Public Affairs Office
FORT CARSON, Colo. — There are many opportunities to provide assistance to those in need, and the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) provides a convenient and safe way to do just that.
The Fort Carson CFC is set from Nov. 16, 2020 through Dec. 18, 2020, and it’s open to active-duty service members, government employees and retirees.
The goal is to make 100 percent contact with everyone who is eligible to contribute, said Raymond Dunn, the chief of the plans and operation division, Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security and the Fort Carson CFC coordinator.
This year’s theme is Show Some Love: Be the Face of Change. The focus is on bringing people together to make a difference.
“CFC is a community for changing people’s lives through charitable contributions and donations that impact charity causes,” said Barbara Barfield, the zone manager for the Mountain States CFC zone.
The mountain states zone is one of 36 geographic zones. It consists of Colorado and parts of Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Utah and Wyoming. Within the zone, there are eight military installations, numerous federal agencies and postal facilities, which is almost 200,000 personnel.
Unit CFC representatives will be at the battalion level for Soldiers and with the directorates for civilians, Dunn said. Everyone will have access to the traditional paper booklets that have information on the charities or can review them online.
There are several ways to make charitable contributions.
“At Fort Carson, we’re focusing on the traditional paper pledge form where you look up the charities of your choice and put them on your paper pledge form,” Barfield said.
People can also use the online-giving platform on the website at https://mountainstatescfc.givecfc.org.
“For convenience, for Soldiers, we’re trying to make it as easy as possible,” Barfield said.
Contributing to the campaign can have a direct impact on a community.
Soldiers, civilians and retirees are encouraged to pay ahead so that the services are available when they are needed.
If, for example, there’s a fire on Fort Carson and there is damage to homes, it’s important to have services immediately available that would come from CFC funding, Barfield said.
“It kind of pays forward, so that when the services are needed, they’re there,” she added.
The convenience of making a contribution is a major factor for anyone who wants to participate.
“About 95% of the campaign comes through payroll allotment, Barfield said. “It’s just easy.””
Making a difference in people’s lives could come down to a cup of premium coffee.
“If every person gave up one cup of coffee a month, we could raise $1.5 million at Fort Carson — this is the potential for giving,” Barfield said.
The charities have been vetted by federal employees and military personnel throughout the country to ensure the worthiness of the charities, Dunn said. “They’re all vetted.”
Barfield has been working with the CFC for 21 years.
“It’s my passion,” Barfield said. “I work with the very best — the military and federal (employees) are the very best. They’re so generous.”
Since 1961, when it became the Combined Campaign, more than $8.4 billion was contributed in the U.S. through the CFC to charitable partners. In 2019, about $86.5 million was contributed.
It’s one of the world’s largest and most successful annual workplace charity campaigns.
Fort Carson has participated in the CFC for many years.
“We’ve been doing this for many years,” Dunn said. “I think it’s important that we keep charitable organizations in mind.”
| Date Taken: | 11.16.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 12.22.2020 15:23 |
| Story ID: | 385642 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 16 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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