JOINT BASE LANGLEY-EUSTIS, Va. –
The telltale signs of autumn are everywhere -- fall foliage, football on television, and the beginning of the annual Combined Federal Campaign, which kicked off Sept. 23 and runs through Nov. 1.
The CFC is the world's largest and most successful annual workplace charity campaign, with nearly 200 CFC campaigns throughout the country and overseas, raising millions of dollars each year. Pledges made during the campaign season support more than 20,000 eligible non-profit organizations who provide charitable funding to those in need throughout the world.
The CFC is the only authorized solicitation of federal employees in their workplaces on behalf of approved charitable organizations. It began in the early 1960's to coordinate fundraising efforts of charitable organizations so federal donors would only be solicited once in the workplace, providing the opportunity to make contributions through payroll deduction.
At Joint Base Langley-Eustis, CFC fundraising donates about 25 percent of the total contributions annually for all federal donations on the Hampton Roads peninsula. In 2012, units at JBLE raised more than $890,000 for charitable causes.
"[The CFC] reinforces the culture of family not only here on our installation, but across the service," said U.S. Air Force 2nd Lt. Kristine Hochschwender, 633rd Air Base Wing CFC project officer.
Charles Harris, Fort Eustis' CFC project officer, echoed Hochschwender's sentiment, calling CFC donations "one of the best opportunities for the community to give back."
Every unit has dedicated CFC representatives with donation forms and informational brochures for the thousands of organizations to which one can donate. Each year, CFC representatives strive to contact each Service member to ensure they have the opportunity to donate.
Beginning this year, donors also have the ability to log onto MyPay and make CFC contributions via their account, which spares donors from saving paper receipts, Hochschwender explained. Donors using MyPay to contribute to the CFC should use JBLE's unique campaign number, "0896," when making online donations, as well as entering their unit number designation.
Personnel at JBLE should look for CFC representatives visiting units in the coming weeks to donate to this year's campaign. Personnel at Langley AFB can also contact their first sergeants to find out who their unit's CFC representatives are, while members of the Fort Eustis community can visit Army Community Service to donate.
For more information on how to donate, contact your unit CFC representative or visit the CFC of the Virginia Peninsula website at
http://www.cfcvp.org.