CFC.

.....October really kicks off the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) at work, the annual fundraising event where the Shipyard raises actually quite a bit of money for charitable organizations nation wide (with an empasis on local area organizations). It's a time of pledge cards and inspriational speeches and all types of wild, weird, sometimes even normal, attempts to coax people to give donations on an either one time basis, or better yet, a little bit out of every paycheck for the next year, on behalf of the program.

.....Every year you see most of the same activities happening. Some of them are fun to watch. I like the classic car and motorcycle show where the buckets are placed out to collect donations based on how much you like the restored classics they have on show. The Jail-And-Bail is always good for a laugh, where codes and shops nominate individuals to be thrown into jail via donations to the CFC fund, with the individuals with the top ten most collected monies actually get dressed in prison stripes and have to be put on 'trial' later in the month.

.....But this year someone tried something new that was rather interesting. He dressed himiself up as someone who was homeless and set himself a little shelter to the entrance of the Burwell Street tunnel. He had himself a blanket and little cardboard shelter. He even had himself a little stuffed dog for effect. And in front of this little scene he proudly displayed a collection can for CFC. He played music and begged for coins as people left the Shipyard via the tunnel.

.....A lot of people leave out that tunnel for the parking garage. My only worry was that he was going to be trampled in the rush of Shipyard workers leaving for the day on Friday. But it was such a novel idea, and he played it off so well, that I had to throw what change I had in my pockets into his bucket.

.....I have a couple of friends at work who volunteer time at the local food bank. Even here in Kitsap County, which is somewhat more economically isolated than the rest of the state due to the military installations, there is a lot of worry about how the homeless and poor are going to be fed through the upcoming cold seasons. Donations are really down this year, almost the worst seen in a long time.

.....I've donated time to the local Food Bank before. It is very rewarding, but very depressing as well. May be time to think about donating time again.

.....Aaron / Arontius.