Curt Kolcun: A shared passion for citizenship within our local communities
From the desk of Curt Kolcun
Vice President, Federal Division
Microsoft Corporation
During this holiday season, I want to extend greetings and good wishes to you and your entire information technology (IT) staff from the federal team at Microsoft. Thank you for your continued confidence in Microsoft.
In the course of my work, I often meet with government and community leaders here in the United States, and during my discussions, one theme always emerges: your passion and drive to create opportunities for America's citizens, for local businesses and industries, and for the communities you serve.
Microsoft shares this passion for helping our employees connect to their local communities. One of the best examples of this commitment, I believe, is the Microsoft Volunteer Connection – a volunteer matching system. In addition to matching employee financial donations up to $12,000 per year per employee, Microsoft also matches time that our employees volunteer in the community, donating $17 per hour to the eligible organizations they serve. Through last year's Employee Giving Campaign, Microsoft employee donations and the corporate match totaled more than $39.2 million.
Closer to the home of the federal government, Microsoft is an active participant in the Washington, D.C., area through days of caring where Microsoft employees volunteer locally at Martha's Table and So Others Might Eat. We support scholarship programs such as the Hoop Dreams Scholarship Fund that connects students to the Washington metro region professional business community through a year-long college prep mentoring program and an internship program. And Microsoft recently launched the Get Net Safe tour – an Internet safety campaign to show consumers how to steer clear of spyware, phishing attacks, and other Web threats – with the National Cyber Security Alliance, the Federal Trade Commission, and Boys and Girls Clubs of America.
As Vice Chair of the USO of metropolitan Washington, a private, nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide morale, welfare, and recreation-type services to our men and women in uniform, I am especially proud of the Microsoft federal team's creation of a monthly volunteer program. In addition to sponsoring numerous USO events and activities, Microsoft's federal team and their families recently began volunteering for Operation USO Care Package, packing welcome bags that are then distributed at the BWI Gateway Lounge to military personnel passing through the airport.
If you or any of your employees is interested in volunteering alongside the Microsoft federal team for Operation USO Care Package, please contact me at askcurt@microsoft.com.
Warm wishes for a happy, safe and joyous holiday season. I look forward to working with you to make 2007 another year of great strides for your organization.
Sincerely,
Curt Kolcun
Vice President, Microsoft Federal
