Can’t give of yourself? The Combined Federal Campaign empowers those who can
2016-12-07
There is no such thing as a perfect donation—although it’s something both Hillary and Paul Gramm have been striving for. Time, money, personal relationships—all are valuable commodities to the nonprofits championing different causes for the betterment of society. Which currency works best for you is as personal as the stories coming from Johnson Space Center team members (and their families) who have gone above and beyond to enrich others’ lives.
Paul is a flight planner in the Flight Operations Directorate, as well as a JSC co-coordinator for this year’s Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) push. He and his wife, Hillary, have dedicated more than a decade to giving back by mentoring children through Big Brothers and Big Sisters (BBBS), which is one of the many organizations supported by the CFC. Hillary, too, works directly for a nonprofit. For her, charitable giving not just “a thing” she does around the holidays—it’s part of her identity.
The Gramms.
“It’s beyond rewarding to watch these kids grow up and their lives evolve,” Hillary said. “There are hiccups along the way, but the obstacles are so far and few between compared to the successes.”
Consider Sam. Now 24 and a “big” in the program himself, he’s come a long way from that initial meeting more than 10 years ago. Autistic and from a single-parent home with a father in jail and a brother with special needs, the quickly maturing teenager didn’t get a lot of one-on-one attention.
“He was at an awkward age where he didn’t want to be so kind to his mom, and he just needed something that was special for him … so Paul and I would do things with him and just make him feel good, such as go to a Rockets game," Hillary said. "That was his first time. Now he travels all over the United States, by himself, to various sporting venues. He just drives and goes, maps it out and plans, and he does a really good job with that. He always liked sports, but being at the actual events that we would take him to kind of triggered his love of that hobby.”
The program did more than just give Sam an outlet. It gave him a livelihood.
“Hillary was able to help find resources to get him a job, and so he got a job at Target,” Paul said. “It was challenging to get him through that program, but it’s ultimately made him a very independent person. And he’s traveling across the country, using his own money and doing things that he probably never would have thought about doing before entering the program.”
Hillary’s nonprofit connections also trickled down, so to speak, to another CFC charity that helped Sam’s family: Habitat for Humanity.
“I was able to get the mom set up through Habitat so they have a home,” Hillary said. “Before that, there was no end in sight for this apartment that they lived in. Habitat happened to be somewhere and I talked to them, and I called (Sam’s mom) and said, ‘You know, you should really consider this.’ They were able to do it, and they’ve had their house for five years now.”
The Gramm’s latest “little,” Emily, is another long-term match that’s given their family great joy.
“We just had our four-year anniversary,” Hillary said. “Emily is 15, and she’s very smart and just a really good kid.”
However, as with the kids who come through BBBS, their home lives leave much to be desired. That’s where the Gramms come in.
“Our first four years were mostly fun activities—and they’re still fun activities—but we always talk about college and education, and how if you want better things in life, you have to work for it and go to school,” Hillary said. “School’s kind of an option at her house, but I’ve set expectations for her. I said that school is not an option, and we’re not even going to discuss graduating high school. It’s: Which college are you going to go to?”
Emily has flourished under the Gramms extra doting and attention.
“She’s with Paul and (me) regularly,” Hillary said. “We have Thanksgiving together every year, where we cook all day. It has been so rewarding having her.”
It’s not all smooth sailing, of course. Their “little” is isn’t so little anymore—and teenagers are purportedly not the easiest to get along with.
“We’re very open and honest with her,” Hillary said. “I say, ‘I know these things are going on.’ She thinks I’m super old and lame and stuff, but she’s still is seeking that approval. She’ll tell me things that I know would get a reaction, and I try to not give her the reaction. And sometimes we’ve had to have hard conversations, and we’ve had to have consequences. There were a couple bad behaviors and I gave her a consequence … and then at the end, I see her stewing in the car, and she’s mad—but when she leaves, she goes, ‘Bye, I love you.’ Every time.”
Love is a magnificent reward. However, maybe you simply don’t have the time to give so deeply to someone in need. Maybe the emotional investment is too much to bear.
Not to worry. If you can’t give of yourself, thousands of fine organizations are in desperate need of, quite simply, resources.
“From my perspective, all these organizations we’ve been talking about and the thousands of others, it takes a support staff to make them function,” Paul said. “They need full-time, dedicated people who are working on this as their primary focus in life—and those people have to eat and sleep, too. And donating to these organizations, if you can’t volunteer, you can monetarily contribute to keep them afloat.”
Even if you don’t have the time to make individual miracles happen, “supporting the people who are able to put their time in is just as valuable,” Paul said.
Intrigued? In less than five minutes, you can make a donation through the CFC and support a cause close to your heart.
Civil servants can donate through Employee Express.
Anyone can give a cash or check donation:
JSC’s participation goal is 75 percent, and no matter how you give, every dollar matters. Remember: The last day to contribute is Dec. 15, so be sure to donate soon!
Want to learn more? Check out JSC’s CFC website or contact this year’s JSC CFC coordinators: Paul Gramm or Herb Baker.
Catherine Ragin Williams
NASA Johnson Space Center
Paul is a flight planner in the Flight Operations Directorate, as well as a JSC co-coordinator for this year’s Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) push. He and his wife, Hillary, have dedicated more than a decade to giving back by mentoring children through Big Brothers and Big Sisters (BBBS), which is one of the many organizations supported by the CFC. Hillary, too, works directly for a nonprofit. For her, charitable giving not just “a thing” she does around the holidays—it’s part of her identity.
The Gramms.
“It’s beyond rewarding to watch these kids grow up and their lives evolve,” Hillary said. “There are hiccups along the way, but the obstacles are so far and few between compared to the successes.”
Consider Sam. Now 24 and a “big” in the program himself, he’s come a long way from that initial meeting more than 10 years ago. Autistic and from a single-parent home with a father in jail and a brother with special needs, the quickly maturing teenager didn’t get a lot of one-on-one attention.
“He was at an awkward age where he didn’t want to be so kind to his mom, and he just needed something that was special for him … so Paul and I would do things with him and just make him feel good, such as go to a Rockets game," Hillary said. "That was his first time. Now he travels all over the United States, by himself, to various sporting venues. He just drives and goes, maps it out and plans, and he does a really good job with that. He always liked sports, but being at the actual events that we would take him to kind of triggered his love of that hobby.”
The program did more than just give Sam an outlet. It gave him a livelihood.
“Hillary was able to help find resources to get him a job, and so he got a job at Target,” Paul said. “It was challenging to get him through that program, but it’s ultimately made him a very independent person. And he’s traveling across the country, using his own money and doing things that he probably never would have thought about doing before entering the program.”
Hillary’s nonprofit connections also trickled down, so to speak, to another CFC charity that helped Sam’s family: Habitat for Humanity.
“I was able to get the mom set up through Habitat so they have a home,” Hillary said. “Before that, there was no end in sight for this apartment that they lived in. Habitat happened to be somewhere and I talked to them, and I called (Sam’s mom) and said, ‘You know, you should really consider this.’ They were able to do it, and they’ve had their house for five years now.”
The Gramm’s latest “little,” Emily, is another long-term match that’s given their family great joy.
“We just had our four-year anniversary,” Hillary said. “Emily is 15, and she’s very smart and just a really good kid.”
However, as with the kids who come through BBBS, their home lives leave much to be desired. That’s where the Gramms come in.
“Our first four years were mostly fun activities—and they’re still fun activities—but we always talk about college and education, and how if you want better things in life, you have to work for it and go to school,” Hillary said. “School’s kind of an option at her house, but I’ve set expectations for her. I said that school is not an option, and we’re not even going to discuss graduating high school. It’s: Which college are you going to go to?”
Emily has flourished under the Gramms extra doting and attention.
“She’s with Paul and (me) regularly,” Hillary said. “We have Thanksgiving together every year, where we cook all day. It has been so rewarding having her.”
It’s not all smooth sailing, of course. Their “little” is isn’t so little anymore—and teenagers are purportedly not the easiest to get along with.
“We’re very open and honest with her,” Hillary said. “I say, ‘I know these things are going on.’ She thinks I’m super old and lame and stuff, but she’s still is seeking that approval. She’ll tell me things that I know would get a reaction, and I try to not give her the reaction. And sometimes we’ve had to have hard conversations, and we’ve had to have consequences. There were a couple bad behaviors and I gave her a consequence … and then at the end, I see her stewing in the car, and she’s mad—but when she leaves, she goes, ‘Bye, I love you.’ Every time.”
Love is a magnificent reward. However, maybe you simply don’t have the time to give so deeply to someone in need. Maybe the emotional investment is too much to bear.
Not to worry. If you can’t give of yourself, thousands of fine organizations are in desperate need of, quite simply, resources.
“From my perspective, all these organizations we’ve been talking about and the thousands of others, it takes a support staff to make them function,” Paul said. “They need full-time, dedicated people who are working on this as their primary focus in life—and those people have to eat and sleep, too. And donating to these organizations, if you can’t volunteer, you can monetarily contribute to keep them afloat.”
Even if you don’t have the time to make individual miracles happen, “supporting the people who are able to put their time in is just as valuable,” Paul said.
Intrigued? In less than five minutes, you can make a donation through the CFC and support a cause close to your heart.
Civil servants can donate through Employee Express.
- Sign into your Employee Express account.
- Click on the Combined Federal Campaign link (top link on the left) and start the CFC module.
- Select your contribution method (payroll deduction or check) and amount
- Designate your charities.
Anyone can give a cash or check donation:
- Get a pledge form from your division CFC coordinator.
- Fill out your pledge form with your charity selection and contribution amount
- Turn in your form with your check/cash to your CFC coordinator. (The pink slip is yours for tax-deductible records.)
JSC’s participation goal is 75 percent, and no matter how you give, every dollar matters. Remember: The last day to contribute is Dec. 15, so be sure to donate soon!
Want to learn more? Check out JSC’s CFC website or contact this year’s JSC CFC coordinators: Paul Gramm or Herb Baker.
Catherine Ragin Williams
NASA Johnson Space Center
Paul and Hillary Gramm. Image courtesy of the Gramms.