Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Tonight's picture was taken in August of 2008. Coach Dave came over to visit Mattie and brought him all sorts of items from the school's football team. Including a signed team football! There was a lot going on in this picture, but this was our first real interaction with Coach Dave (since Dave was an educator at the upper school and Mattie was at the elementary school), who from that moment on became an integral person in our lives and a crucial part of Team Mattie!

Quote of the day: What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we have done for others and the world remains and is immortal. ~ Albert Pike


For over a year now many of our Foundation supporters who work for the federal government have asked me whether Mattie Miracle is a designated charity of the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) program. My answer has always been NO, but today, I took the first steps to achieving this goal.

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Here is some information on the CFC...............................
The Combined Federal Campaign is the only authorized workplace charitable giving drive for employees in the Federal workplace. CFCNCA is the local campaign for Federal employees in the Washington Metropolitan Area and is the largest workplace giving campaign in the world. Through the collective contributions of nearly 150,000 civilian and military Federal employees, the campaign generated more than $67 million in pledges for participating local, national and international charities in 2010. Federal employees in our region seek to generate $67.2 during the 2011 campaign.

The purpose of the CFC is to support and promote philanthropy through a program that is employee-focused, cost-efficient, and effective in providing all Federal employees the opportunity to improve the quality of life for all.

There are more than 4,000 approved charities eligible to receive donations through the CFCNCA. This list spans organizations that provide human services, health care, medical research, disaster relief, housing, youth development and much, much more.  http://www.cfcnca.org/
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Before you can apply to become a designated National Capital Area charity, you first must attend a workshop. The workshop educates the applicant about the regulations (since this is overseen by the Office of Personnel Management), the application process, and the benefits of joining such a program. It was a very productive 90 minute workshop in which we all had the opportunity to ask questions and I found it interesting to learn about the other non-profits in the area applying for this designation.

I am not feeling well this evening, so I am ending tonight's posting with a thoughtful video I received from my friend Charlie. The title of the video is CHANGE! The beauty of this story is it is told WITHOUT words. They aren't needed. Certainly change could be translated literally to mean pennies, quarters, and dimes. But after seeing the video, I have determined that change in this case means much more. Sometimes motivators for change come in different shapes, sizes, and not necessarily who or where we would expect it to be coming from. It also shows me that our simple acts of kindness can impact another person's day in immeasurable ways.

http://www.flickspire.com/m/Share_This/changeforadollar?lsid=161f9da9b7692b6854ca64548e80ab61