SAF Scene News & Information for SAF Employees Your Contribution Can Make a Difference:
April 2010
Statewide Community Health Charities 2010 Campaign
If your next paycheck was a couple of dollars less than usual, would you miss it? What if that money was working to save someone’s life? And what if your contributions were tax deductible? The Community Health Charities (CHC) has partnered with the most respected health charities to make workplace giving easy. You decide how much to deduct from each paycheck...you choose the charities to receive your gift, and CHC works to keep your gift in your community. The annual State Employees Campaign is in progress through the month of April. Please look into your heart and support the health charity of your choice including: • Community Health Charities of SC • ALS Association, SC Chapter • Alzheimer’s Association • American Heart Association • American Diabetes Association • American Lung Association, SC • The ARC of South Carolina • Arthritis Foundation • Crohn's & Colitis Foundation Cystic Fibrosis Foundation • Easter Seals, SC • Iron Disorder Institute • Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation • Leukemia &Lymphoma Society • Lupus Foundation of America, SC Chapter • March of Dimes • Muscular Dystrophy Association • National Kidney Foundation, SC • National Multiple Sclerosis Society • Susan G. Komen For the Cure • United Cerebral Palsy of SC Your support, whether a one time donation of $5, $10, or $15, or even $1 per paycheck, will help the designated charities provide grants for research; support groups for those afflicted, as well as their families; public education; early detection; and screening programs, just to name a few ways your dollars make a difference. If you would like a CHC brochure and pledge kit (you may choose payroll deduction or a one time donation), please see Rachel Cambre.
SAF has great staff, and we hope you will help us shine during this campaign. Not sure that your contribution will make a difference? Following is a breakdown of what your dollars can do through a donation to CHC: • $1 can provide an educational booklet for a person newly diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. • $1 per two-week pay period sends a child with epilepsy to a morning of summer camp. It can also provides one unit of a cryoprecipitate blood transfusion for a woman suffering from a rare blood disorder. • $2 per pay period will purchase a session of speech language pathology service to help restore a stroke survivor’s ability to communicate independently. • $2.50 per two-week pay period, the price of a Starbuck’s latte, provides a patient with a platelet count. • $2.50 pays for one hour for a child with diabetes at camp. • $3.75 sends a diabetes information kit to a newly diagnosed individual. • $10 pays for one hour of a Diabetes Advocate’s visit to Washington. • $10 provides diabetes risk tests to 500 individuals. • $15 provides transportation for a dialysis patient to get to and from the dialysis center or hospital for 1 day. • $25 enables a diabetic kidney patient to purchase a 2-3 month supply of syringes. • $50 enables a hypertensive kidney patient to purchase a blood pressure cuff. • $61 pays for one day for a child with diabetes at camp. • $75 buys nutritional supplements to help nourish a frail adult or pediatric dialysis patient. • $150 buys immunosuppressive medication for a transplant recipient for 1 week. As you can see, every dollar truly does count. For more information about CHC, please visit http://www.healthcharities.org/. The deadline to submit your contribution, whether payroll deduction or cash/check, is April XX, 2010. Also, if you donate $96 or more over the course of a year, you will receive a Super-Giver token of appreciation. **Dollar breakdown courtesy of American Diabetes Association, American Lung Association, Epilepsy
Congratulations! SAF First Quarter 2010 Teams of the Quarter: Business Team: Support Team:
Happy Birthday! April 2 Herman Lightsey Jr. April 16 Dot Johnson April 20 Fay Jennings April 26 Lisa Morse
Welcome Aboard!! The SAF welcomes our new Claims Technician, Heather Moore
Upcoming Events April 14– General Staff Meeting Auditorium, 3:00 p.m. April 16– Employee Appreciation Day April 21- Handling Repetitive Trauma Claims Auditorium, 10:00 a.m May 5– Cinco de Mayo Tasting Festival (sponsored by Sunshine Committee. Details to follow)
SAF Scene News & Information for SAF Employees Sunshine Committee Off to a Great Start The Sunshine Committee is off to a great start in 2010! Our first raffle basket, won by Mee Ling Khor-Gould, raised over $120. The funds raised through the Sunshine Committee's efforts will be used to offset the cost of future Sunshine Committee events, and, at the end of the year, year end, a review of funds raised will determine how much money is sent to this year’s designated charities which include Sister Care, Harvest Hope Food Bank and the American Heart Association. Since Earth Day is in April, the Sunshine Committee will host a “recycle your gently used linens household items, and new unopened travel size toiletries” drive for Sister Care. Watch for more details on the SAF Net. The committee’s next fundraiser will be the Cinco de May Tasting Festival, which will be held in the SAF Auditorium. All SAF employees are encouraged to attend, and “tasting fee” will be $2 per person. The Sunshine Committee will provide chips, salsa and refreshments. Staff are encouraged to sign up to bring their favorite Mexican dish. More information will follow as the date gets closer. Another program the Sunshine Committee has implemented is the Secret Pal program. The purpose of this program, which is optional, is to have a “secret pal” who will brighten your day from time to time with random acts of kindness, including inexpensive or no cost gifts left on your desk, greeting cards, etc. This is a great way to support your coworkers while getting to know them a little better. Helen Burch will facilitate this program, and will match individuals based on the questionnaire posted on SAF Net. Please remember that the Sunshine Committee represents all SAF Staff. If you have a program idea or suggestion for the Committee, please let us know. The 2010 Sunshine Committee Members are Steve, Rachel, Cheryl, Connie, Donna, Helen, Karen, Meigs, Noelle, Shannon and Traci. We look forward to your continued support of the Sunshine Committee!
April 2010
Celebrate Earth Day Every Day-Reduce Junk Mail
Do you ever wonder who can access your Granted, credit card offers and unwanted personal information and how they might use magazines are not necessarily "sexually it? Are you annoyed by the piles of junk mail explicit" but the Post Office will not argue that you are bombarded with every other day? with you! Just be sure to fill out the correct If you're ready to take back your privacy and form legibly and submit it to the proper stop those too good to be true, have to have it address or location. now...AND MORE solicitations, follow these **If you have too much junk mail and you simple steps! don't want to sit down and call Step 1: Avoid filling out o r w ri t e th e s e pl a c e s Things you’ll need: those needless product Time, Patience, and the will individually proceed to Step registrations, and 3.** to be free from junk mail sweepstakes and/or contest Step 3: Send a letter to Mail entries! You aren't likely to win but you are Preference Service-Direct Marketing giving away personal information that can be Association, PO Box 643-Carmel, NY sold or even rented to marketing companies 15012-0643. Include your complete name, and anyone else willing to pay. address, zip code and a request to "activate If you are the kind and generous type who the preference service". For up to five years, donates to charities on the phone or through this will stop mail from all member the mail, if you're filling out warranty organizations that you have not specifically information, or purchasing any product or ordered products from. The Direct Marketing service be sure to tell the representative or Association’s (DMA) Mail Preference write in big, bold letters "DO NOT SELL Service lets you opt out of receiving MY NAME, ADDRESS, OR PHONE unsolicited commercial mail from many national companies for five years. When you NUMBER!" When calling customer service lines for register with this service (for a $1 fee), your cable, satellite, phone service, credit your name will be put on a “delete” file card, etc be sure to tell the customer service and made available to direct-mail agent that you would like to opt-out of any marketers. However, your registration will not stop mailings from organizations that do marketing based calling and mailing lists. If your junk mail problems are coming not use the DMA’s Mail Preference Service. from one of many common sources, continue To register with DMA’s Mail Preference to Step 2. Service, go to www.dmachoice.org. Step 2: Sometimes dealing with the Post The DMA estimates that listing with their Office can be a little tricky, obviously, it is in mail preference service will stop 75% of all their best interest to encourage mailing...no national mailings. It can take up to six months mail = no paycheck. I have had a mail carrier for your request to be fully processed. You tell me that any junk mail addressed to can also opt-out online, but they charge $5. "Current Resident" cannot be returned, I do it The best way is to fill out their online form, anyway. Simply cross out the address and bar then mail them a printout. code, circle the first class postage stamp and TIPS & WARNINGS write "Refused: Return To Sender" and place Most junk mail, whether it is sent via ein the nearest USPS mail box. If the mailings mail or postal service has an address, phone persist, the Post Office does offer one system number or website that you can use to optfor blocking unwanted mail, to do this you out.. Be aware of who you are giving your will need to either go to your Post Office or information to! DO NOT assume that go to http://www.usps.com/forms and get PS companies will maintain or respect your Form 1500: Application for Listing and/or privacy! Prohibitory Order. This form allows you to stop "unwanted sexually explicit mailings" *This article was reprinted from from being delivered to your address. www.ehow.com.*