The U.S. Army Garrison Fort Belvoir, its tenant organizations and their key workers celebrated the success of the 2012 Combined Federal Campaign at the Community Center during an awards ceremony Feb. 7.
The garrison and its partners raised more than $115,000 to give to various charitable organizations throughout the United States.
"I'm thrilled," said Edward Milligan Fort Belvoir Garrison CFC coordinator. "I think about all the people getting help based on these efforts, especially after Super Storm Sandy and these other disasters. That's what it's all about, so my goal was to raise as much as we can to help people."
Fort Belvoir received The President's Award for achieving 75 percent participation and 100 percent of its goal for 2012. Milligan said he hopes the passion he shows during the campaign contributed to the garrison's success.
"I try to get the message out and show my passion for this campaign and get people to think about the people less fortunate than they are and we can make a difference," said Milligan. "We are fortunate to have jobs and houses to live in, so it's important we do what we can to help others improve their situations."
The campaign started Sept. 1 and ran through Dec. 15. Tenant organizations contributed over $73,000 to the installations final total.
One reason for the large amount raised by the tenant organizations is the number of Eagle and Double Eagle pin award winners. Eagle and Double Eagle pins are awarded to employees who contributed 1 to 2 percent of their base salaries to the campaign. Fifteen individuals were awarded an Eagle pin while four were awarded Double Eagle pins.
Milligan was pleased with the amount of Eagle pin winners since he isn't able to have personal contact with every individual on post.
"The donations started flowing in, in November and December," said Milligan. "So, I was going to the bank every week making deposits."
Six directorates achieved 100 percent of their directorate goal. They are the Public Affairs Office; Plans, Analysis and Integration Office; Equal Employment Opportunity Office; Staff Chaplain Division; Directorate of Family, Morale, Welfare and Recreation; and the Staff Judge Advocate Office.
Col. Joseph Keeler, Fort Belvoir Staff Judge Advocate represented the SJA office at the event.
"It's great because all of the charitable organizations are wonderful groups and every little bit you give to those organizations helps out other people," said Keeler. "I'm grateful we were able to give and exceed the goal."
Keeler said his office didn't aim to reach 100 percent participation, but he is happy they did anyway.
"We just talked about the opportunity to impact other's lives," said Keeler. "I've got great people that work in my office. They are very giving and care about other people, so I was not surprised that we met the goal."
Tom Clavin, Project Manager-Force Protection Systems, operations manager, was the key worker for PM-FPS in 2012. Clavin stressed "every little bit helps" to his co-workers.
"A dollar here and there," said Clavin about what he told his co-workers. "When you pull everyone's contribution together it makes a massive impact."
For the fifth consecutive year, Fort Belvoir exceeded its total goal in terms of funds raised. Milligan said that accomplishment is a credit to the installation's consistency.
"I think what you have is a lot of returning givers who have causes they are really passionate about," said Milligan. "This year, we convinced people if they could not afford to give a lot, just give a dollar or two because it does make a difference. That's what helped our participation rate this year."
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