A dozen charities showcased their organizations during the Combined Federal Campaign charity fair Tuesday at the Fort Belvoir Exchange.
U.S. Army Garrison Fort Belvoir and the Defense Department worked together to sponsor the event. The CFC gives the military and government civilians the opportunity to support charities, which help military Families, as well as many others. CFC personnel provided information about the charities that the campaign supports at the fair, said Karin Kane, Headquarters Department of the Army CFC program manager.
"It gives people a chance to come in and be excited about CFC," Kane said. "We get a chance to talk to a lot of different people."
CFC is the largest annual workplace charity campaign in the world and there are almost 200 CFC campaigns across the country and overseas, according to its website. The federal campaign supports many charities, including medical organizations, animal rights groups and food banks.
The CFC rolled out the new MyPay program this year, which allows donors to give confidentially online. The program is paperless and will save money, Kane said. Charities receive more funding when people use MyPay, she said. To use the MyPay program, visit mypay.dfas.mil.
The CFC fundraising goal for Fort Belvoir is $63,000 this year. It is less than last year's goal of $67,730 due to the budget uncertainty surrounding the military. The CFC season started on Sept. 1 and has been extended from Dec. 15 to Jan. 15 after recent budget issues that impacted the workforce.
Cheryl Garrett, Fort Belvoir's CFC manager for 2013, said she could not provide an estimate for how much money the garrison has already raised this year. She was impressed by the wide variety of charities that participated in the fair.
The charity fair was a great event, said Stephen Brooks, Fort Belvoir Deputy to the Garrison Commander. He said he is a big supporter of the CFC and is assured of the ability of Fort Belvoir's CFC to fulfill its mission.
"It is going to be more challenging because, during the furlough, they suspended it and then they started it again," Brooks said. "They may have lost a little bit of momentum, but I'm confident that Belvoir will make our goal like we do every year, because it means the most to help somebody when your means are the least."
Diane Shoemaker, director of lodging and transportation for the Yellow Ribbon Fund, said that the event helped members of various charities exchange information. Her organization facilitates hotel, apartment and car rental accommodations, primarily for injured servicemembers and their Families in the Washington D.C. area.
Shoekmaker was impressed with the charity fair on Tuesday.
"It is absolutely fantastic," she said. "It gets everybody's name out there."
She said the event is particularly important because her organization does not have as much name recognition as many of the others participating in the fair.
Tony DiFerdinando, retired U.S. Air Force, of Alexandria, Va., attended the charity fair after stopping by Fort Belvoir to visit a packaging store. He said that he met some great people at the charity fair and learned a lot about many organizations that he did not know existed.
Many servicemembers who need assistance do not know about all of the local charities that would like to help them out, according to Dayna Klein, marketing coordinator for the Fredericksburg Area Food Bank. She met some active-duty servicemembers at the charity fair and told them about what her food bank has to offer.
"The Combined Federal Campaign is fabulous," Klein said. "It is a great way to bring a lot of the nonprofits together in one central location, to raise awareness to make sure that people know that there is availability out there."
Donors can choose from more than 4,400 charities. They are listed on the CFC National Capital Area website in the online "Catalog of Caring" at www.
cfcnca.org.
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