California State Employees Charitable Campaign Thank You Event

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Hawkins Foundation President Lisa Hawkins, Secretary of Service and Volunteering Karen Baker and United Way's CEO Steve Heath

Secretary of Service and Volunteering Karen Baker was named the first recipient of the Augustus Freeman Hawkins Award at the California State Employees Charitable Campaign Appreciation Event in March. The award was presented by Lisa Ransom, granddaughter of Hawkins, the first African American Congressman elected west of the Rockies and founder of the California State Employees Charitable Campaign.

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Baker received the award for her leadership of the campaign over the last five years. “What an honor,” Baker said. “I had no idea I would be given this award in memory of such an incredible man. To receive this from the grandchild of the man who created the California State Employees Charitable Campaign is a great honor. He left an amazing legacy, and you, Lisa, are part of that legacy. You are carrying on his vision in a way you should be very proud of.”

Ransom was the keynote speaker and serves as president of the Augustus F. Hawkins Foundation and managing consultant at the Ransom Group, a government affairs consulting firm that has worked with Congress and the White House on various initiatives and campaigns.

The event honored the 38,000 state employees who contributed to the California State Employees Charitable Campaign and the volunteers and departments that helped to spread the word about the opportunity. Baker announced that the 2012 campaign raised $6.6 million.

Several volunteers and departments received awards for their work. The Office of Business, Transportation and Housing Agency, Department of Community Services and Development and the California Emergency Management Agency received awards for outstanding campaign increase. The Legislative Employees received the Spirit of California Innovation Award. Outstanding per capita giving awards went to the Agricultural Labor Relations Board, the State Treasurer’s Office and the State Water Resources Board. The Department of Transportation and California Highway Patrol received Eureka Society awards for raising more than $500,000 each.

The California State Employees Charitable Campaign was established in 1957 to provide a single charitable fundraising drive in the state community. This year, CSECC celebrates its 55th year providing California state employees with the opportunity to use payroll deduction to support nonprofits of their choice. The local CSECC represents more than 80,000 state employees in the five-county capital region of Amador, El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento and Yolo counties. More than 297,000 state employees are contacted by CSECC, and thousands of nonprofits are now receiving a total of $6.6 million.