Running for A Good Cause

If you meet Erika and Maria from the Division of Public Utilities you are most often greeted with a warm smile and positive attitude. Both young ladies are a great asset to the Commerce Charity Committee. They seem to be always looking for ways to make a difference. Congratulations on finishing the 5K race. We can't wait to hear what you are doing next!

Erika and Maria at the Charity Carnival.

This past Saturday, we had the honor of running the 5K charity race for the Heartbeats for Heartland, which benefits the Hartland Center of Salt Lake.  The Heartland Center is an organization that supports 800 residents, 75% of whom are non‑native English speaking immigrants or refugees.  It was great to see a large gathering of people there to support the organization, and sacrifice their Saturday morning for a good cause.  We even recruited a State of Utah employee from another Department - Chris Pacheco from DHS, to run with us!  The day was a win-win for all of us.  Not only did we support a charity, but we got a great workout!   

Erika Tedder & Maria Martinez

Division of Public Utilities

Campaign Statistics

We only have about two weeks left of the Charitable Contributions Campaign. The campaign ends on November 4th. So far this year Commerce employees have raised $9,173.60 toward different charities. Last years campaign raised $15,404.78. In the 2011 campaign, a total of 112 employees out of 239 made a contribution. So far this year we have only had less than 27% of the employees contribute.

Please remember there is no minimum donation amount, every penny counts. You can either donate through payroll or make a one time donation (check or cash). If you are hesitant using the computer, please contact any committee member and they will be happy to help you.

http://www.usecf.state.ut.us/

Participation:

DPU 62%
CORP 56%
OPRO 50%
Securities 48%
Admin 42%
OCS 17%
Real Estate 15%
CP 10%
DOPL 5%

Committee members are: Valeri Stewart, Karen Wicker, Julie Price, Bela Vastag, Marv Everett, Tracy Naff, Dane Ishihara, Cyndy Nelson, Liz Blaylock, Erika Tedder, Maria Martinez, and Mia Larson.


"Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could only do a little". Edmund Burke

Become a member of the 1% Club

The State Employees Charitable Fund recognizes State employees who contribute generously. Any employee who donates 1% or more of their annual gross salary to charities through the Charitable Fund is eligible for special recognition.

Take your current hourly rate and multiply it by the 2088; the amount available on the pay plan for the current fiscal year. That amount is your Total Gross Salary. Multiply that amount by 1%
(.01) Divide that amount by 26 pay periods. That will be your deduction per pay period.

Link to the formula: http://www.usecf.state.ut.us/onepercent/onepercent.html

Hats Off and Much Appreciation to the 1% Club!

DID YOU KNOW?

$1.00 donation will provide:

• a can of tuna and a package of crackers to a person who cannot take their HIV medication without food


• something a needy child may never have - a book
  


• a meal for a homebound elder

$1.00 per paycheck (price of a candy bar) will provide:

• A six month supply of syringes for a diabetic patient



• A year's worth of sports equipment for a Special Olympics athlete
  


• Transportation to a doctor's appointment for two senior citizens for 1 year
  


• Food, litter and toys for four kittens
  

$2 per week (price of an energy drink) will provide:

• A mammogram screening




• A day of summer camp for a child with epilepsy




• A year's worth of sports equipment for a Special olympics athlete




• Infant/Child CPR training for two early childhood teachers




• USDA nutritional snacks for one youth for a year




• Housing counseling for three families to avoid foreclosure




• Medication management by an RN for four abused and neglected teens in a residential treatment facility

$5 per week (price of a premium coffee) will provide:

• The cost of a two-week summer enrichment program for a four year old




• 100 days of quality after-school programming at a child's school




• Group therapy for 16 teenagers to teach them anger management skills to help reduce violent juvenile crime
  
  Any small donation can make a big difference
  

We can do no great things, only small things with great love. --Mother Teresa

CureSearch for Children's Cancer

Cancer entered my family's life at the end of my seventh grade year, in April 2000. I had been experiencing significant back pain for several months, and was diagnosed with pre-cursor B cell Non-Hodgkins Lymphoblastic Lymphoma-stage III.

Luckily, the tumor had grown into a nerve and this is why my back pain was so intense. If it hadn't grown into a nerve, we might not have found it in time.

I began a chemotherapy protocol on April 21, 2000. My treatment lasted for two years, and during that time I experienced a multitude of physical, mental and emotional side effects like so many cancer patients do. I am so, so grateful to all of my doctors, nurses, family and friends, and so many others who helped me and prayed for me throughout my cancer battle.

I now serve as a team leader for CureSearch. As a childhood cancer survivor, I know the importance of using my voice as much as possible to be heard. I am passionate about childhood cancer research and advocacy -- and having gone through and survived the disease, I feel it's my duty to speak for those who've sadly lost their fight. It's not fair and it will never be justified for just one child to lose their life to this terrible disease. I cannot say enough about CureSearch's leaders and dedicated volunteers who help childhood cancer survivors like me to eliminate cancer.

--Caroline S. Hale
Project Coordinator, Pediatric Services Development

You can access the website at http://www.curesearch.org/

This Weeks Winner!

Congratulations Paul Hicken with the Dept. of Public Utilities!!!  Paul won this week's drawing for the gift basket.  We will have another drawing next week, so if you haven't already, DON'T FORGET TO DONATE!!!!

How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.  ~Anne Frank

If you are ready to donate please go to http://www.usecf.state.ut.us/.

1. Click on “Pledge Online Now”
2. Next you will be prompted to enter your e-mail address and LAN password
3. Select your contribution type (Payroll Deduction or One Time Contribution)
4. Choose your favorite charity/charities (you can search by entering keywords). You can choose more than one charity for your donation. 

Please note that you can copy your last year’s donation by clicking on the box titled “I want to copy last year’s contributions into this year.” You will still be able to edit and alter your contributions.

5. Enter the amount you would like to donate
6. Confirm your donation and PRINT a copy for your records. The print button is located in the bottom left corner next to the “finish” button. This will be your only opportunity to print your receipt.

 More detailed instructions can be found at http://www.usecf.state.ut.us/Docs/2012/USECFonlinetraining9-20-11.pdf

How to make pledges to non-listed charities and get certain organizations added to the master list of participating 501(c) 3s:

-Please use the hard-copy pledge form found at the home page http://www.usecf.state.ut.us

-Provide the contact information for the agency where you want your donation to go (name, address, and phone number)

-If choosing a payroll deduction method, sign the authorization form

-For a one-time pledge, attach a check or cash donation to the pledge form

-Submit the form to your division coordinator

If you need help donating or have questions about the campaign please don’t hesitate to ask!

Erica

Canine Companions for Independence

Canine Companions for Independence provide highly-trained assistance dogs for children and adults with disabilities, free of charge! CCI was founded in 1975 and since then there has been 3,683 graduate teams. CCI trains four types of assistance dogs:


Service Teams- assist adults with physical disabilities by performing daily tasks

Hearing Teams- alert the deaf and hard of hearing to important sounds

Skilled Companion Teams-enhance independence for children and adults with physical, cognitive and developmental disabilities

Facility Teams- work with a professional in a visitation, education or healthcare setting
 
Susan Daynes and Diva Interview

Kelly's Story

Spanish Fork Skilled Companion Team: Kandace, Hal, and Sawyer

 Sawyer is 10 years old and has had his canine companion, Hal, for almost 2 ½ years. Hal is a service animal provided by Canine Companions for Independence. For approximately $100, Sawyer, his mom Kandace, and his sister, Erica, spent 2 weeks in California where they were trained on how to manage and utilize a companion dog. They are now a Skilled Companion Team with full public access. Previous to Hal, Sawyer would not sleep in his bed at night, refused dental and doctor visits, could not go to restaurants or movies, struggled on family vacations, was absent from family parties, among other typical Autistic behaviors. Since receiving Hal, Sawyer sleeps in his own bed all night. He is the kid with the cool dog in his mainstream 4^th grade classroom, instead of the kid who is weird or different. Sawyer shook hands with over 500 people at Erica’s wedding with Hal at his side in a matching bowtie. He willingly goes to the dentist and doctor since Hal is allowed to ‘visit’ during the examination. Hal rides in his kennel on a special platform Sawyer’s Dad built onto the back of an ATV, so now Sawyer is able to participate in family ATV trips. Sawyer loves to go to CCI fundraisers and awareness events so he can tell strangers what Hal has done for him. He doesn’t always look strangers in the eye, but he will interact with them. Hal’s favorite outing is the movie theater because Sawyer slips him pieces of popcorn. We are truly grateful for CCI and the impact they have had not only on Sawyer, but our entire family. Hal also has a special bond with Rhett, Sawyer’s older brother with Asperger’s Syndrome. We all love that dog, and he has made us complete. We look forward to many new opportunities for Sawyer with Hal at his side.

 

This story and more can be found in the Wasatch Champions' blog: wasatchchampions.blogspot.com

CCI website: http://www.cci.org

Donation code: 4109