The Greater Mount Airy Ministry of Hospitality has been approved as a participant in the Combined Federal Campaign beginning in September. It is the first organization in Mount Airy to participate in the CFC.

The Greater North Carolina Combined Federal Campaign is designed to give federal employees the opportunity to donate directly from their paycheck to non-profit organizations in their local area. The Greater Mount Airy Ministry of Hospitality, which operates the Shepherd’s House and Blue Ridge H.O.P.E., is the only Mount Airy organization in the campaign and one of only two in Surry County.

“This is a huge honor,” the Rev. Phil Goble Jr., director of GMAMH, said on Wednesday. “This is an incredible opportunity to give our friends who work in the federal government a chance to designate a gift to help the homeless and victims of domestic violence in our area.”

The GMAMH will go into a book distributed to all federal employees in western North Carolina. Employees can select agencies based on factors such as location or service given. They can then designate their donations to those organizations. A five-digit code will be assigned to the GMAMH.

“Federal employees will have the opportunity to contribute to the charitable organization of their choice from September to December 2011,” Local Federal Coordinating Committee Chair Darlene P. Williams wrote in a letter to GMAMH announcing its selection. “There will be opportunities during this time to educate these employees about the services/programs that your organization provides.”

The Shepherd’s House was opened in April 2003 and has housed nearly 1,100 men, women and children. It has provided more than 28,500 nights of shelter and more than 85,600 meals. The shelter has housed people from Surry, Stokes, Yadkin, Wilkes and Forsyth counties in North Carolina and several from counties in Virginia. More than half the clients have come from Mount Airy and other points in Surry County.

Blue Ridge H.O.P.E. is the county’s only domestic violence shelter. Since opening in April 2009, the shelter has housed more than 200 victims, including women and children. The facility has provided nearly 5,000 nights of shelter and staff members have answered more than 300 calls on the domestic violence hotline (786-7766).

“This is an incredible opportunity,” Bob Meinecke, chairman-elect of the GMAMH, said. “We are thankful to the Combined Federal Campaign for including us in this year’s fundraising efforts. We also want to go ahead and thank all of the federal employees who will choose the Greater Mount Airy Ministry of Hospitality for their giving in the coming year.”

For more information, contact Goble at 710-2530 or Combined Federal Campaign Assistant Director Cindy Westmoreland at (336) 337-8834.