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JB MDL community members go above, beyond CFC goal

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Dennis L. Sloan
  • Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst Public Affairs
JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. --  Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst community members not only reached the $375,000 Combined Federal Campaign goal, but surpassed it.

The community generated $377,575 in donations from Oct. 3 to Dec. 9 and have received an additional $4,382 dollars since the campaign officially ended, bringing the total to $381,957.

"The CFC celebrated its fiftieth birthday this year and is now the world's largest workplace campaign," said Valerie B. Scott, South Jersey Combined Federal Campaign manager. "The agencies that participate in this charity help our country to be a better place, but with the low economy over the past few year's theses agencies serve a larger number of people. Luckily the JB MDL community has come through with large amounts of donations to help with this high demand."

The campaign started Oct. 3 with a CFC kick-off ceremony at Tommy B's Community Activities Center where Col. John Wood, JB MDL and 87th Air Base Wing commander, gave the opening remarks.

The commander explained how people are constantly reminded of how fortunate they are to have a stable job in today's economy. He also mentioned how this base is the second-largest employer in the state of New Jersey, emphasizing and how much of an impact JB MDL community members could have on the state.

"Colonel Wood designated basic targets, goals and gave me an overall direction on how to achieve the $375,000 goal," said Lt. Col. Justin Niederer, JB MDL CFC lead and 819th Global Support Squadron director of operations. "He and other base leadership members helped throughout the entire campaign."

Niederer coordinated and managed the CFC program here. He was assisted by Senior Master Sgt. Geraldo Moore, 818th Global Mobility Readiness Squadron superintendent, who acted as the JB MDL CFC deputy.

A volunteer from each unit took on the duty of being a CFC representative. The volunteers contacted each member of his or her unit to inform them of what the CFC campaign is.

Each unit representative was also responsible for carrying pledge cards and a catalog listing all the approved charities available to possible donators. The representatives' overall goal was to inform 100 percent of personnel of the impact and importance of donating.

"Not only did the unit representatives meet their goal of reaching 100 percent of the personnel, but played a key role in surpassing the CFC donation goal this year," said Niederer.

Contributors had several choices when determining how to donate. Choices included: donating to a specific charity; spreading donations out among several charities; or donating money directly to the CFC organization from which the money would be spread across several charities. There were more than 2,500 approved charities in the 2011 CFC campaign.

"The money donated will have a significant impact on the state and the country," said Niederer. "Acting as the JB MDL CFC lead was a very rewarding experience and I suggest the next lead rely on base leadership and their unit representatives to succeed."

According to the organization's website, CFC's mission is to promote and support philanthropy through a program which is employee focused, cost-efficient and effective in providing all federal employees the opportunity to improve the quality of life for all.

"I would like to personally thank all of the JB MDL community members for their generosity," said Scott. "Your donations will help to change lives all around the country."