Loads of fun -- literally

  • Published
  • By 2nd Lt. Stephani Schafer
  • 52nd Fighter Wing Public Affairs
SPANGDAHLEM AIR BASE, Germany --  When you leave your office for a week, whether you're gone for your job, vacation or something else, you typically expect work to pile up.

Usually this means dozens of e-mails to answer, phone messages to reply to or meetings to attend -- usually it doesn't mean you come back to find stacks of paper or boxes piled on your desk.

Unfortunately, when I came into work Sept. 19, after a week of training in the states, I had nearly 100 boxes piled on and around my desk. And my co-workers desks.

Welcome to the world of the Combined Federal Campaign project officer.

The CFC is an annual campaign designed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower and signed into an Executive Order by President John F. Kennedy. The campaign allows service members and Department of Defense employees the opportunity to give to the charity or charities of their choice, without being constantly inundated with charity requests throughout the year.

This year's CFC runs from Oct. 3 - Dec. 2.

There are more than 2,500 charities to choose from, ranging from humanitarian relief to child abuse awareness and animal protection. Whatever your reason for giving, the CFC provides the opportunity to support causes near and dear to our hearts.

The CFC-Overseas, which manages Spangdahlem's campaign, has a unique opportunity not available for CFC agencies in the U.S.

Family Support and Youth Programs allows people to support your overseas military community, with no overhead costs deducted from donations. One-hundred percent of the money donated to FSYP goes straight back to your installation, in this case, Spangdahlem, Air Base.

Family Support and Youth Programs donations are put to use in any 52nd Fighter Wing commander-approved quality of life programs.

To donate to FSYP, simply write your donation amount next to the FSYP block on your donation form.

Regardless of who you give to, the CFC is a great way to donate to others. No donation is too small; even a one-time $1 donation can help those in need.

So why did I, and dozens of others Sabers, take on the burden of piling our desks with boxes of materials and stacks of papers for the duration of this year's campaign?

Because we don't see it as a burden; we see it as an opportunity to help. More importantly, we see it as a way to help the Air Force and care for our local service and family members.