Q & A: 

Name, state department or agency.

I work for CDCR in the Office of Business Services.

What do you enjoy most about working as a Loaned Executive on the OP campaign? 

This took me out of my comfort zone. I enjoyed training and interacting with the DCs and KCs.

How long have you been involved in or volunteered with the campaign?

I have been involved off and on as a Key Campaigner (now referred to as Key Connector) with CDCR, and later CalPERS, since 2000.

What inspires you to give through the campaign?

It’s my desire to give back to the community. Sometimes the needs are overwhelming, but I find through Our Promise, I can focus on the nonprofits for which I really have a passion.

What nonprofits do you donate time or funds to, and why?

I’ve donated to St. Jude mostly (through the mail and through Our Promise, they always send the cute address labels), many telethons, muscular dystrophy, diabetes and Multiple Sclerosis. I’ve donated to St. Jude since the early 2000s. I donate to St. Jude because they don’t charge the families for anything. I was donating to Multiple Sclerosis when a family member was diagnosed. I now donate to Society for the Blind due to a recent diagnosis I received for myself. This year I found myself being more generous than in the past once being able to hear from some Nonprofits at events and working with the OP staff (I had actually cancelled my donor status last year). 

Any other comments you’d like to add?

I appreciate the experience I received as a Loaned Executive. I appreciate my department-CDCR for seeing the need to allow me to do this. I didn’t realize that this level of responsibility existed. I always worked as a KC. There’s a lot more to this process and a lot of work that goes unnoticed. I’ll appreciate seeing the Pledge Forms next year and I’ll do my part in my department to make sure every coworker realizes the importance of the form. I personally felt sad when I witnessed a check mark in the “decline” or “delete” boxes. It means there’s a lot more education to be done by Loaned Executives, DCs and KCs.