There are few things more important and more rewarding than lending a helping hand. Each year, through participation in the City of Houston’s Combined Municipal Campaign (CMC), Houston Airport System (HAS) employees do just that!

The City’s CMC is a voluntary program that runs annually each year from Oct.1 to Oct. 31 and supports qualified charities. The CMC demonstrably illustrates how important our gifts – both small and large - can be to others.

“The CMC makes you a true believer in the power of giving,” according to Harleen Hines Smith, Chief Human Resources Officer at HAS. The 2019 campaign came to an end more than a month ago and when the results were in, Hines Smith said that she was incredibly appreciative and humbled at the above-and-beyond giving of HAS employees.

“It gets better and better each year,” according to Harry Singh, CMC Coordinator for the HAS. “This year HAS employees were phenomenal as we exceeded our participation goal of 35% with 68% participation and exceeded our monetary goals of $25,000 with $28,167 raised.”

Singh said that this year our focus was to raise awareness of “our very own” Houston Airport Interfaith Chapels. In 2018, HAS employees raised $2,080 for Houston Airport Interfaith Chapels through our CMC efforts. In 2019, HAS employees raised $12,645.88 for the same charity. “That’s a 600 percent increase – and that’s just astounding,” he said.

The stunning “Return on Investment” was the result of strong support from HAS management and significant giving and other efforts throughout the ranks of the HAS. He singled out several groups for kudos, including Custodial Services, Landside/Ground Transportation, Maintenance, and Badging at IAH and several divisions at HOU and EFD.

Singh said that promoting the Houston Airport Interfaith Chapels this year was a deliberate effort, and it included Chapel President Walt Gray’s presentation at an HAS Enterprise meeting along with several other initiatives he undertook to “spread the word” about the campaign.

“For instance, Walt and I visited with Landside staff, who because of their duties are unable to attend Enterprise meetings,” Singh said. “We went to each of the shifts – 4:30 a.m., 1 p.m., and 8:30 p.m. to let those staff know about the CMC. They were very receptive, and they responded and helped us to get to those record giving levels this year.”

“So many groups really went above and beyond in contributing to the campaign,” Gray said.

Michael Cantu, Interim Division Manager, IAH Custodial Services, helped raised funds by informing Custodial Services staff about CMC. Recognizing the importance of the Chapels to the public and the Airport staff, Custodial Services also assists in the upkeep of the Chapel areas at IAH. Custodial Services maintains the Chapel carpet (shampoo, extract, and vacuuming) on a regular schedule. They also recently added a dehumidifier to help control moisture levels.

Cantu said “The customers we encountered using the Chapel asked that we consider changing the seating to include seats with an attached desktop, assisting those that cannot kneel on the floor. Within a few weeks this was accomplished by the Custodial Services and Customer Service group.” He said they were pleased to support the Chapels.

Thousands of people in the City of Houston have been helped by Interfaith Chapels and organizations represented in the CMC campaign. The generosity of City of Houston and HAS employees improves conditions and demonstrates the power of the collective dollar and its far-reaching impact.

One of the most heartwarming stories to come from this year’s giving was the story of a Hobby Airport employee who works for a Security contractor and who was diagnosed with Stage 4 Inflammatory Breast Cancer.  Sarah Freddie, Administration Manager at Hobby, met and spoke with the young woman, and ultimately shared her plight with Interfaith Chapels. The single mother of three had been undergoing chemotherapy and radiation treatments but was unable to follow doctor’s orders and rest at home because of her financial obligations. After hearing her story, Interfaith Chapels made a financial donation to her.

The contributions of HAS staff makes such generosity possible, with our singular focus to raise funds for Houston Airport Interfaith Chapels. Singh said the HAS staff was passionate and committed, and the overall results speak very well for themselves. “We want to grow even more from here,” Singh said. He laughed and added, “They have really given me incentive now. If people thought I was begging and pleading before, they haven’t seen anything yet.”

HAS employees who attended the Fish Fry at HCM, the Chili/Gumbo cookoff at IDO, the Fun Run at HOU and several other events hosted by different divisions not only raised funds for CMC but more importantly were happy as these events turned out to be great employee engagement activities.

“CMC allows us to be that helping hand,” Singh said. “Everyone faces life challenges along the way, and I’m so pleased that the Houston Airport System once again has been able to make a difference.”

“We had 15 people among HAS staff who gave 1 percent of their paychecks toward CMC. That is truly exceptional.”

Once again, HAS came through in a big way for CMC.