Even as the Christmas Assistance program for 2007 was winding down, several local residents were already looking at 2008 with a goal of making a difference.  At Tele-Media Solutions, staff members were recently addressing a “good problem”—What to do with money that employees had accumulated in their picnic fund.  Terry Hamilton, Outside Plant Technician, suggested that the money should go to charity.  During the ensuing discussion, Kathy Spears, Customer Service Representative, stated that there were a lot of needy children that would benefit from a charitable donation to the Angel Tree Program.  So after further discussion, the employees decided to donate the money that had accumulated in the employee fund to the Christmas Assistance Program. 

However, Fred Roe, Outside Plant Technician, challenged the employees to “not stop there.”  Fred suggested that they look into payroll deduction and continue funding the program.   At that point, Nancy Pruitt, Executive Assistant, contacted the Washington County Community Foundation to determine is this was a possibility.  Nancy was quite pleased to learn that the Washington County Community Foundation can offer payroll deduction opportunities for employers of all sizes that can benefit virtually any charitable cause.  In fact, the Foundation already had a Christmas Assistance Fund that was started by the John Jones GM City employees a few years ago.  A few quick emails later, and the employees at Tele-Media Solutions now have the opportunity to donate to the Christmas Assistance Program, a little bit at a time.  “Payroll deduction is an easy way for all of us to make a difference in our community,” states Judy Johnson, Executive Director of the Washington County Community Foundation.  “We don’t think twice about putting a dollar or two in a snack or soft drink machine.  Just think of the impact if everyone in Washington County would forego one or two dollars a week to support a cause important to them, whether that be our youth, education, the arts and the list of possibilities goes on and on.” 

The staff at Tele-Media Solutions had one more nice surprise when Charles Coon, General Manager, informed them that the Board of Directors of the Cooperative had decided to match all of the employee Christmas Assistance Fund payroll deduction contributions.  Now their simple act of kindness will have an even greater impact. 

Washington County Community Foundation is a nonprofit public charity established in 1993 to serve donors, award grants, and provide leadership to improve Washington County forever.  For more information about starting a payroll deduction program at your place of business, contact the Foundation at 883-7334. 

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