DTCC Employees Recognized for Fundraising Efforts in American Cancer Societys Making Strides Campaign
Baking, bingo and badgering were some of the strategies two DTCC employees used to each raise more than $10,000 for the “Making Strides Against Breast Cancer” campaign, an effort that earned them awards from the American Cancer Society (ACS).
Charlene Dorsett, Senior Associate, Corporate Events Marketing, based at DTCC’s U.S. office in Tampa, was named an ‘’Employee Champion’’ and Joe King, Director of Corporate Content & Editorial Strategy, also based in Tampa, was named the ‘’Real Men Wear Pink Champion’’, for their work to raise funds and awareness during the campaign last fall.
Charlene said she got involved with the campaign through DTCC’s Employee Resource Group; Women’s Initiative for Networking and Success (WINS) but also because she had a prior connection to the American Cancer Society.
Charlene joined ACS fresh out of college and was part of the group that helped open a Hope Lodge, one of the organization’s 30+ hospitality centers for cancer patients and their families. “I knew how that organization cared for people,” she said.
“It’s a very personal journey when you have individuals in your life that have that awful disease,” Charlene reflected. “It’s not just the person who gets the disease. If you are in their circle, you feel their pain. The entire family and friendship circle gets sick, too.”
Though she’s been involved in Making Strides for several years, last year’s efforts were stepped up a notch despite having to rely on virtual programming because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Charlene worked with the DTCC Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) group, including DTCC CSR Director Fikir Sanders and CSR Senior Associate Gerardo Reyes, in Tampa, to encourage colleagues to donate with creative events like an online ‘’Making Strides Trivia Bingo’’ night, and a virtual baking demonstration featuring DTCC Managing Director Keisha Bell, Head of Diverse Talent Management and Advancement.
“Partnering with them was amazing,’’ Charlene said. They were a joy to work with. It’s great raising the money, but it’s also just so much fun, seeing how the employees support the cause. They just make it more engaging and more interesting and fun.”
As for her award, Charlene said it’s nice to have but the feeling of volunteering and giving back surpassed the award. ‘’I think I already got the reward by participating, engaging and volunteering my time.’’
The campaign also involved the introduction of the ‘’Real Men Wear Pink’’ campaign to DTCC, with Joe King the driving force behind the company’s efforts. Like Charlene, Joe’s efforts came from a personal perspective, because he’s had family members who have been impacted by breast cancer, including some who did not survive. “It’s something that’s near and dear to me,” he said.
The challenge of raising money to fight breast cancer got Joe thinking about what he could do beyond just writing a check. He was happy to be nominated to represent DTCC for the Real Men Wear Pink campaign and excited by the challenge.
He praised the ACS for providing the tools to get the job done, including advice for how to raise funds through email and social media. “The ACS is there every step of the way with you,” he said. His “natural nudginess” took over once the campaign started, and he posted on Facebook, LinkedIn and elsewhere and cajoled colleagues from the top of the company all the way down. “I wanted it to be successful. I wanted DTCC to be up there on the top of that leaderboard,” he said. “So, I politely nudged people to donate.”
One important point for Joe was that there was no donation too small. “That $1, $5 or $10 donation - every single donation, every single dollar is important,” he said. He relied in particular on materials that showed how even small dollar donations would be used.” A $10 donation, for example, could provide a cancer patient transportation for treatment.
“I was able to take the ACS materials and create communications that got to people’s hearts and made them see the real impact of their donation,” Joe said. “The last thing that someone fighting this disease needs to think about is, ‘Can I get a ride to treatment?’ How can you not give $10?”
Joe said he raised some money from family and friends but most of the dollars he took in came from DTCC colleagues. “It was definitely company-driven,” he said, crediting the DTCC family with the success of the campaign. “I just happened to be the face of this.” He hopes that he can mentor the next staffer to take up the pink banner.
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