Remarks as Prepared for Delivery and the Combined Federal Campaign Awards Ceremony

Good morning. On behalf of Secretary Leavitt, I’d like to welcome everyone to the 2007 Combined Federal Campaign Awards Ceremony.

I’d like to thank:

• Tony Wilson, for emceeing today’s celebration.
• Kristin Valentine, from Bread for the City, for representing all the charities in the CFC Catalogue today.
• Edith Parrish, CFC Deputy Campaign Director, for honoring HHS today.
• And all the key workers who made sure that every HHS employee had the opportunity to participate in this year’s campaign.

I’d also like to extend an especial thanks to:

• Dr. Von Eschenbach,
• John Dyer,
• Gregg Doyle,
• Chuck Wedlock, and
• All of the Food and Drug Administration

Thank you for accepting the challenge to be this year’s host agency for the HHS Combined Federal Campaign. You did an excellent job.

Secretary Leavitt has been a tremendous supporter of the Combined Federal Campaign ever since he served as Chairman of the 2004 Campaign while Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. So he truly means it when he asked me to congratulate each and everyone here who helped make last year’s CFC so successful.

In this past campaign, the Navy Department and the Department of Commerce tried very hard to raise more money than anyone else. In fact, they each had their best campaigns ever. But we still beat them by more than half a million dollars.

In total, HHS employees donated almost $5 million to worthy causes in the 2007 Combined Federal Campaign.

That’s the kind of friendly competition that the world needs more of. You truly are the most generous employees in the entire federal government.

Today, we want to recognize the role you have played in bettering so many lives. This year’s CFC slogan was “Be a Star in Someone’s Life.”

This awards ceremony is a formal recognition of just how brightly you have shone for so many. Whether you donated financially or through your time and energy, you’ve done so much to make life better for others.

Thanks to you, CFC organizations are:

• Feeding the hungry,
• Sheltering abused women and children,
• Caring for the disabled,
• Conducting research to cure diseases, and
• Supporting the arts, and
• Improving the environment.

I’d like to share with you just one real life example of how the work of CFC charities can relate to our work here at HHS. We call you a double-eagle donor if you donate 2 percent of your annual salary. One such double-eagle donor works for the United States Navy. She has a daughter, Toni, who was born prematurely and with cerebral palsy. While her health insurance was able to cover her many visits to pediatricians, orthopedic surgeons, and therapists, her specialists were not able to fix all her problems.

One day, when Toni was 8 years old, a new pediatric surgeon referred her to a special hospital dedicated to providing free orthopedic care and rehabilitation. The hospital based their care on medical — not financial — need. The hospital is able to fund this care in part through CFC donations. Thanks to this hospital — and the generosity of people like you — Toni was able to overcome her ailments. Today, she’s a student in medical college. She wants to be a pediatrician herself so that she can help other children just like she was once helped.

That story and countless other stories wouldn’t be possible without your assistance.

As Edmund Burke said, “Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could only do a little.”

Thank you for doing something. Thank you for your humbling generosity.

And in case you didn’t give until it hurt in 2007, let’s all be sure to give even more this year!