{"id":3932,"date":"2023-10-19T14:14:31","date_gmt":"2023-10-19T18:14:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/?p=3932"},"modified":"2023-10-24T14:35:16","modified_gmt":"2023-10-24T18:35:16","slug":"sefa-campaign-promotes-community-and-leadership","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/issue\/volume-41-no-8\/sefa-campaign-promotes-community-and-leadership\/","title":{"rendered":"SEFA campaign promotes community and leadership\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"NYSEFA\"<\/p>\n

October 25, 2023 —<\/em> Over the past few years, between a pandemic and inflation, the number of people in need across the country \u2014 and New York State \u2014 continues to grow. The rising costs of food, clothes, gas, and housing take a toll.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There is an easy way for PEF members to volunteer and donate to those who need a helping hand.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The New York State Employees Federated Appeal (SEFA) works closely with the United Way to allow PEF members to easily give small donations from their paycheck to support the charity of their choice.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Bill
Bill Ferguson, chairman of the Finance Committee at SEFA and a PEF member.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThis is a state employee-based organization,\u201d said Bill Ferguson, chairman of the Finance Committee at SEFA and a PEF member. \u201cThis is not the governor\u2019s program or run by management, this is all run by the employees! By civil servants.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Ferguson works for the Department of Economic Development as a Program Specialist 2. He is also a PEF Division 262 Council Leader and holds a seat on the PEF Executive Board. Ferguson believes in SEFA\u2019s work and says that the organization thrives because others do as well.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s all the state employees,\u201d he said. \u201cColleague to colleague.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Thomas Wickerham is a retired state employee. He worked with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation as a Program Specialist 2. He has been a part of SEFA for more than26 years and was elected to the Statewide SEFA Council in 2015. He also serves as the chair of the Greater Rochester Area SEFA Committee. Like Ferguson, he believes in SEFA\u2019s mission.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re just two run-of-the mill employees trying to help our community,\u201d Wickerham said.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Ferguson and Wickerham want to assure PEF members that none of their donations go anywhere except to the charities members designate.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe magic of this is that donors can choose even as low as $1 to be deducted from their paycheck,\u201d Wickerham said. \u201cThey choose the charity, the Comptroller\u2019s Office collects the money, United Way\u2014whom we partner with\u2014collects the money from the Comptroller\u2019s Office and distributes the money from there.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The United Way has local agencies across New York State that partner with local SEFA committees. Together, the committees and volunteers review and vet the charities and make sure the money is distributed properly.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The benefits of the SEFA campaign go beyond the local communities. Since state workers at agencies across New York are the ones volunteering and working to make sure the campaign continues, many of those who participate also trained build skills that they then take back to their agencies.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSEFA trains leaders,\u201d said Ferguson. \u201cOrganizing, presentation, team building and problem solving \u2014 those skills make state workers better, stronger and more efficient.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Ferguson credits PEF and other unions as critical to SEFA\u2019s success.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPEF has always been a pillar of support. Past presidents have worked with us many times,\u201d Ferguson said. \u201cPEF are leaders in the state workforce and with SEFA.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

While the SEFA campaign has no formal date, it does typically ramp up from September to December with the option for donation and pledges to be given year-round.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Ferguson and Wickerham both recognize that the past few years, and even the past few months, have been a struggle for communities, but say that the show still must go on.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe needs are great without question,\u201d Ferguson said. \u201cBut that just reinforces the work and how our campaign plays a role in helping each other and our communities. The SEFA Campaign fills the gaps where government programs cannot.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Pledges can be made by visiting this <\/span>SEFA pledge page<\/span><\/a>. Likewise, SEFA has a list of all the Charities and Federations<\/span> with whom they currently partner on this <\/span>Charities and Foundations page.<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

October 25, 2023 — Over the past few years, between a pandemic and inflation, the number of people in need across the country \u2014 and New York State \u2014 continues…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"division":[],"allowed_regions":[],"allowed_divisions":[],"class_list":["post-3932","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","issue-volume-41-no-8"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nSEFA campaign promotes community and leadership\u00a0 - PEF Communicator<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/issue\/volume-41-no-8\/sefa-campaign-promotes-community-and-leadership\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"SEFA campaign promotes community and leadership\u00a0\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"October 25, 2023 — Over the past few years, between a pandemic and inflation, the number of people in need across the country \u2014 and New York State \u2014 continues...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/issue\/volume-41-no-8\/sefa-campaign-promotes-community-and-leadership\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"PEF Communicator\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-10-19T18:14:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-10-24T18:35:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/10\/sefalogo.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"ccanham\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"ccanham\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/communicator.pef.org\\\/issue\\\/volume-41-no-8\\\/sefa-campaign-promotes-community-and-leadership\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/communicator.pef.org\\\/issue\\\/volume-41-no-8\\\/sefa-campaign-promotes-community-and-leadership\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"ccanham\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/communicator.pef.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/0677b03b1fcdadfe00f4e905b97b90e4\"},\"headline\":\"SEFA campaign promotes community and leadership\u00a0\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-10-19T18:14:31+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-10-24T18:35:16+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/communicator.pef.org\\\/issue\\\/volume-41-no-8\\\/sefa-campaign-promotes-community-and-leadership\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":639,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/communicator.pef.org\\\/issue\\\/volume-41-no-8\\\/sefa-campaign-promotes-community-and-leadership\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/communicator.pef.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2023\\\/10\\\/sefalogo.jpg\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/communicator.pef.org\\\/issue\\\/volume-41-no-8\\\/sefa-campaign-promotes-community-and-leadership\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/communicator.pef.org\\\/issue\\\/volume-41-no-8\\\/sefa-campaign-promotes-community-and-leadership\\\/\",\"name\":\"SEFA campaign promotes community and leadership\u00a0 - 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