AFSPC officials launch 2012 CFC campaign

by 1st Lt. Connie Dillon
Air Force Space Command Public Affairs

10/4/2012 - PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. -- Headquarters Air Force Space Command's Combined Federal Campaign kicked off here Oct.3, giving military and federal employees the opportunity to donate to more than 3,000 local, national, and international charities.

Lt. Gen. John E. Hyten, vice commander of Air Force Space Command, addressed the command on the opportunity to donate. "Everybody who lives and works here at Air Force Space Command, we ought to consider ourselves lucky. We live in a beautiful place, we have amazing work that we do and not everybody in this world is that lucky. We need to remember that," said Hyten. "I think that we all have a responsibility, one way or the other, to try and figure out how we are going to give back."

Also in attendance were representatives from more than 70 local charitable organizations supported by the CFC. These charities are representatives of the thousands who rely on annual contributions to support their cause. All CFC charities are diligently screened to meet CFC eligibility and they provide health and human service benefits throughout the world.

The CFC of the Pikes Peak Region will run through Dec. 15 and is the annual fundraising drive on behalf of the charities for the military and federal employees within Colorado Springs, Pueblo, and most counties that make up Southern Colorado. This area represents approximately 44,000 military and civilian employees at Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station, Fort Carson, Peterson AFB, Schriever AFB, U.S. Air Force Academy, the U.S. Postal Service, the Federal Bureau of Prisons and a host of other federal agencies operating within the region.

According to Maj. Jason Esquell, Capt. Christopher McMillian, and Master Sgt. John Mackey, CFC representatives, they are expecting to meet this year's goal of $219,000 in pledges.

"With all the events that have happened this past year, such as the Waldo Canyon fire, I think that the need to give and the simple realization that your luck can change at any given moment in time...is going to be toward the forefront of people's minds," said McMillian. "As a result, we might be more willing to give as a community because we've seen the benefits of just these types of campaigns."

McMillian explained how the CFC makes donating easy by offering options to donate either online, by visiting www.cfcnexus.org, or by traditional hard-copy pledge sheets.

"By making it easier for our donors to give, I believe we can step up those participation numbers and by virtue of that, step up the volume of the gross donation," he said.

CFC representatives will make contact with 100 percent of their unit members to talk about the CFC and the opportunity to donate.

"Our goal is to have 100 percent contact that very first week and then very close and careful follow on, to ensure that everyone is given the opportunity to give," said McMillian. "We are making our expectations clear, we are eliminating barriers to success, and we have a very motivated and talented staff of project officers and key workers who care about this, and we have every intention of exceeding our goal."

"Headquarters Air Force Space Command has held the record for the top fundraiser for CFC for the last several years for the entire Pikes Peak region, which includes the Air Force Academy, Buckley and Schriever," said Mackey. Last year the CFC of the Pikes Peak region raised $2,608,766, and of those pledges, $209,000 was from AFSPC Headquarters.