The Combined Federal Campaign-Overseas, the annual workplace giving opportunity for active duty service members and federal employees located overseas, has announced its 2019 Hero Awards winners. One of them is Eighth Army’s very own Capt. JaTonya Whitaker of the G1 staff.
Every year the Office of Personnel Management recognizes campaigns and volunteers who have made extraordinary contributions to the CFC through their dedication and creativity. The CFC Heroes Awards are given to the campaign's "unsung heroes" who made significant differences and demonstrated leadership qualities in their campaign.
“All I know is my team and I worked really hard last year for the 2019 CFC Campaign,” said Whitaker. “It means a lot to know that our efforts did not go unnoticed and I'm proud to represent our Eighth Army G1 team and the Eighth Army leadership overall. This just means that our team has raised the bar. Overall, it felt like a good deep breath after a long marathon.”
According to CFC-Overseas, Whitaker was a key player in the success of U.S. Army Korea’s campaign and went above what was expected of her role as the component manager. She trained and managed key workers in more than 100 units, hand-delivered campaign materials, and created flyers and posters to promote campaign events. When support from two of her commands couldn’t be provided, Whitaker stepped in to contribute efforts to those units to ensure that all active-duty members and civilians serving in the area would have the opportunity to donate through the CFC. At the end of the campaign, her efforts led to a 13 percent increase in donations and a 28 percent increase in donor participation from 2018.
“I think the CFC is important as it provides an avenue for Soldiers and civilians to give back to organizations and communities that they feel a connection with,” Whitaker said. “It provides a simplistic way to do so and gives multiple options for how to donate and it can enable somebody to give throughout a whole calendar year if they wish. It's important to keep programs like the CFC afoot as it provides a gateway for Soldiers and civilians to help others.”
Whitaker joins two other heroes — 1st Lt. Brienna Herdrich of U.S. Central Command who served as the community area project officer for the base-wide campaign in Jordan, and Air Force Tech. Sgt. James Earley served as the community area project officer for the 86th Air Wing, which is the largest wing within the European Command.
“Thank you to everyone who contributed and worked tirelessly on the campaign,” said Samantha Barrett, CFC-Overseas regional director. “I am honored to be part of this amazing community of service members and federal employees who demonstrate each year the spirit of public service in and out of the workplace. Hats off to all the 2019 award winners, you are truly making a positive impact in the lives of others here at home and around the world.”
The CFC is a 58-year federal workplace giving tradition that has raised more than $8.3 billion for charitable organizations. The CFC is one of the world's largest annual workplace charity campaigns with 36 CFC zones throughout the U.S. and overseas raising millions of dollars each year. Through the contributions made by military, civilian federal employees and retirees, the campaign generated $2.5 million and more than 2,000 volunteer hours in 2019 for thousands of participating local, national, and international charities.
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