Hill tops federal agencies in CFC donations Published Jan. 18, 2007 By Public Affairs Hilltop Times Staff HILL AIR FORCE BASE, Utah -- Hill topped other federal agencies in Utah, and parts of Colorado, Idaho and Wyoming by raising $1.06 million for the 2006 Combined Federal Campaign. Federal workers throughout Utah, western Colorado, southeastern Idaho and western Wyoming raised a record $2.86 million dollars in 2006 to support local, national and international charitable causes under the CFC. That achievement is well more than the $2.18 million raised in 2005, and the 2006 campaign's goal of $2.2 million, according to the United Way of Northern Utah, which administers the Utah, Colorado, Idaho and Wyoming CFC on behalf of the federal government. "Most people know that the military and other federal institutions are there to serve and protect, but what many don't realize is how generous our federal employees are," said Bruce Jacobs, executive director of the Utah-Colorado-Idaho-Wyoming CFC. "Thanks to the tremendous efforts of countless volunteers and donors, this year our local federal workers will help to feed more families, mentor more children, and improve the health and self-sufficiency of more people than they ever have in the past." Among the other top larger federal agencies to donate in this year's CFC were: the Internal Revenue Service ($334,000); the U.S. Postal Service ($122,000); the Bureau of Land Management ($78,000); the Department of Veterans Affairs ($73,000); the U.S. Department of Agriculture ($54,000); the U.S. Department of Energy ($53,000); Utah National Guard ($52,000); Tooele Army Depot ($44,000); and, the Bureau of Reclamation ($36,500), among many others. Established in 1961, the Combined Federal Campaign is the nation's largest workplace charity drive and the only philanthropic effort permitted by law in the federal workplace. The campaign enables military and federal workers, from the enlisted Airman to the local postal service worker, to support charitable causes of their choice via payroll deduction or cash donation. Since 1996, the local CFC has raised more than $20 million for human health and welfare. Nationwide, the CFC has raised more than $5.5 billion since its inception. Among the strengths of the CFC are the flexibility and choice it offers to federal workers who wish to donate. In addition to the thousands of carefully screened local, national and international charities it supports, the CFC allows for contributions toward the relief of one-time catastrophes, ranging from Hurricane Katrina to more personal tragedies. For example, in 2006 employees from Fishlake National Forest donated generously to support the family of a firefighter who died trying to contain a wildfire in central Utah. "The federal workers in our region have demonstrated year after year their care and compassion for those less fortunate by giving generously to the Combined Federal Campaign," said Jerald Heschel, Ogden IRS field director, submission processing, and 2006 chair of the Utah-Colorado-Idaho-Wyoming Executive Board. "We salute these everyday heroes who do so much to serve their country and community."