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REMARKS BY:
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TOMMY G. THOMPSON, SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
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PLACE:
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Room 800, Humphrey Building, Washington, D.C.
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DATE:
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March 26, 2004
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CFC Awards Ceremony
Good morning. I'm so pleased all of you could be here today to celebrate the true character and generosity of this Department.
Dr. Zerhouni from NIH couldn't be with us today, but I'd like to recognize him for his enthusiasm in coordinating this year's Combined Federal Campaign for HHS. With his help, this year's campaign set a new record for giving for this great Department. We raised over $3.9 million. That's absolutely incredible.
I'd also like to thank Lindsey Buss from Martha's Table for being here today and representing the Catalog of Caring charities. And I want to thank Frank Diconstanzo, the Associate Director of the CFC National Capital Area for lending his support to this fine effort.
Ladies and Gentleman - this year's campaign theme was "You Have the Power to Help." And HHS did. We kicked off this CFC event back in October in the Great Hall. I shared with you a favorite quote of mine from Edward Burke. He said, " Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could only do a little."
We each did our little part and I am very proud to say that for the 4th straight year, our Department has come in number one in the Washington, D.C. area for donations. The Navy and Department of Commerce tried to beat us. They gave us a run for the money - if you will - but we still beat them both by over $500,000.
You know I always say I have the best and hardest working employees in the federal government. I think this just proves that I also have the most caring and most generous employees too. Health and Human Services is truly the Department of compassion.
Thanks to your generous contributions, 3,200 organizations across Washington, D.C. and across the globe are feeding the hungry, sheltering abused women and children, caring for the disabled, conducting research to cure diseases, supporting the arts and conserving nature.
None of this would be possible without your help.
Today, we are giving special thanks to the many employees throughout the Department who worked to ensure every employee had the opportunity to participate in this campaign. And we are recognizing the role each of you played in helping so many lives. Together, you received pledges from over 13,000 employees.
And you persuaded 80% of those contributors to give through payroll deduction. That portion from each paycheck allows charities to count on receiving a check every month so they may better plan how to help those in the community.
The entire Washington area raised over $50 million. And the employees we're honoring here today worked to make our Department number one. Please join me in thanking all these people.
Now, I can't leave here without also saying something about your health. I am still seeing too many employees outside smoking. If you or your co-worker is smoking, please encourage them to get help. And second, we're still too darn fat. We could contribute even more if we didn't eat as much. We could skip dessert and donate that money to the CFC. Then we could be Commerce by $750,000.
I care about all of you and really want you to lead healthy lives.
I thank all of you for being so generous and helping make a difference in the lives of others. Next year, let's go for five in a row!
God Bless You. And God Bless the United States of America.
Last Revised: April 8, 2004
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