By Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Joseph Morgon, USS Theodore Rooosevelt Public Affairs
USS THEODORE ROOSEVELT, Gulf of Oman (NNS) -- Sailors aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (TR) (CVN 71) announced Jan. 9 they donated more than $185,000 to various charities through the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) in 2008.
The Sailors exceeded their goal of $112,000 and far exceeded last year's contributions of $20,000.
"I'm very proud of what this crew accomplished," said TR Commanding Officer Capt. Ladd Wheeler. "We set a lofty goal for contributions and, in true TR fashion, we blew it away. The generosity and caring of our Sailors are fine examples of service to our country. And despite being way out here in the Gulf of Oman, the desire to give back is as strong as ever. TR's pursuit of excellence is not by chance…it's a habit."
Lt. j.g. Ritarsha Furqan, the command CFC coordinator, explained being on deployment in no way diminished Sailors' sense of giving.
"I'm really glad that there are so many people here who are willing to donate," she said. "We're out here fighting the good fight but it's still important for us to be able to give back to the greater good to help people. To everyone who donated and everyone who helped, I want to say 'thank you.'"
Others who also led the efforts said TR Sailors were able to contribute as much as they did because of the backing of department representatives.
"We got people who were already interested and made them excited about the program," said Air Traffic Controller 2nd Class (AW/SW) Paulette Smith, the assistant CFC command administrative representative.
"With people like that leading they were able to get more Sailors interested in the campaign."
"What the command required was 100 percent contact," said Chief Air Traffic Controller (AW/SW) Kord Gibbon, the command enlisted representative for CFC. "No one was, by any means, required to contribute, but everyone had to be aware."
Gibbon said the CFC representatives aboard TR made it their mission to involve the Sailors and show how the different charities could relate to them personally.
"We went out and made it something people wanted to do," said Gibbon. "We showed them how it relates to them, got them interested, and then made them excited about it."
CFC is one of the world's largest and most successful annual workplace charity campaign, with more than 300 CFC campaigns throughout the country and internationally to help to raise millions of dollars each year. Nearly four million federal employees and military personnel are able to donate to the charities of their choice during the annual charity drive. The campaign was established in 1961 and runs from Sept. 1 through Dec. 15.
Theodore Roosevelt and elements of the Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group are on a scheduled deployment to the 5th Fleet Area of Responsibility. They are in the Gulf of Oman providing support to ground forces in Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom.
