39th ABW takes care of home with CFC-O

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Anthony Sanchelli
  • 39th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
INCIRLIK AIR BASE, Turkey --  The Combined Federal Campaign Overseas is scheduled to kick off Sept. 17 and continue through Nov. 16. The campaign is open to all service members, Department of Defense employees and civilians.

The CFC-O provides federal employees an opportunity to donate to reputable charitable organizations. The campaign is the only authorized solicitation of federal employees in their workplace on behalf of approved charitable organizations, said Capt. Mary Mangum, Incirlik's community area project officer. For more than 50 years, it has been an American tradition and the most successful fundraising campaign in the world, said Mangum.

Each year, the campaign exposes potential contributors to hundreds of thousands of charitable organizations they might otherwise not know about, Mangum said. The campaign's continued success is contributed to the generosity and combined power of donators around the world.

"The CFC-O raised $14.2 million for over 2,500 charitable organizations around the world in 2011," said Mangum.

The campaign organizers at Incirlik are planning several events to help spread the word about the CFC-O while having a good time in-between.

The kick-off event will be the Adana Amazing Race, scheduled for Sept. 22. Members of the Incirlik community and Turkish nationals are invited to attend. The mid-campaign event will be a Costume 5K run planned for Oct. 20, and the closing event will be a golf tournament at the Hodja Lakes Golf Course here slated for Nov. 16.

All proceeds from these events will go to the Family Support Youth Programs, unless designated otherwise by the participant. The FSYP is a program unique to the CFC-O, Mangum said. It allows contributors to support quality of life improvement programs at their respective overseas military installations.

For those who would like to donate to one of the other thousands of charities, the CFC-O offers contributors two ways to pledge support to their charities of choice. Service members can give electronically using their credit card or electronic checks, or by using the traditional paper pledge card for payroll allotment, cash or check donations. Civilians can donate by using paper pledge cards which will be available through unit representatives.

For more information on CFC-O, contact Mangum at DSN 676-8143, Master Sgt. Dustin Barnes at DSN 676-8402 or visit http://cfcoverseas.org/.