Chapter 3 Our Workforce

Valassis publishes the weekly RedPlum circular that showcases color “Have You Seen Me?” photos of missing children and their alleged abductors. As a direct result of leads generated by the program, 148 children have been safely recovered. Additional information is available at www.missingkids.com.

Combined Federal Campaign

The Postal Service joins other federal agencies in the Combined Federal Campaign drive each fall. In the 2007 campaign that ended in fiscal year 2008, employees pledged $37.2 million to charities of their choice.

Postal Employees Relief Fund

The Postal Employees Relief Fund (PERF) is a humanitarian effort administered jointly by the Postal Service and the unions and management associations. PERF is supported financially by postal employees primarily through the payroll deduction program of the Combined Federal Campaign. Since its inception in 1990, PERF has assisted more than 4,500 employees and provided approximately $15 million in humanitarian grants. PERF continues to serve a vital role in the recovery effort for employees living and working in all parts of the country. PERF provided valuable support and financial assistance to postal employees and their families throughout the country who experienced damage from house fires as well as property loss resulting from floods, hurricanes, and tornadoes.

Marrow Donor Program

Since 1997, the Postal Service has collaborated with the Marrow Foundation to build awareness of the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) — especially among African Americans and other minorities — and help increase the number and diversity of potential donor volunteers on the Registry. Through the Postal Service’s Delivering the Gift of Life campaign, more than 42,000 postal employees have joined the registry and 75 have made life-saving marrow donations.

Annual Food Drive

On May 10, thousands of carriers and other employees in more than 10,000 cities and towns across America collected, processed, and delivered non-perishable food donated by customers. More than 120 million postcards were mailed to customers letting them know about the event — the world’s largest annual one-day food drive. Now in its 16th year, the drive has provided over 900 million pounds of food to the hungry. This year’s drive collected 73.1 million pounds for the needy from customers. Long-time supporters of the drive included the Postal Service, Campbell Soup Company, America’s Second Harvest, local United Way affiliates throughout America, Valpak Direct Marketing Systems, the AFL-CIO Community Services Network, and cartoonist Bill Keane, who provides special Family Circus artwork for the promotion each year.