Commercial Collection Agencies of America announced that through its initiative, Commercial Collection Agencies of America Gives Back, a portion of the proceeds of its annual conference in Delray Beach, along with substantial donations from individual members, and a fleet of bicycles has been given to 4KIDS of South Florida.
At each CCA of A conference, members cap off two days of continuing education with a large networking event and participate in a novel team-building experience. This year, attendees came together Friday afternoon to assemble bicycles for foster children served by 4KIDS. Each team built a bicycle, creatively named its bike and nicknamed its team, as well as crafted cards for each recipient child.
Teams then presented their bicycles to a judges' panel, in what turned out to be a “bring down the house” finale. The creativity and teamwork were impressive, and members had a lot of fun, but what happened earlier in the day, made the event even more meaningful.
At Friday morning’s general membership meeting, CCA of A President, Bruce Godwin invited all attendees to participate in the charity event. After he announced that 4KIDS of South Florida would be the recipient of the bicycles and the monetary donation from the Association, Godwin, a Boca Raton resident, offered to personally donate to 4KIDS, as well. Immediately, members in the room enthusiastically offered their personal donations, to match Godwin’s, and within minutes, thousands of dollars were raised, to compliment the donation of eight bicycles.
“Watching this event develop during the day was exciting,” commented CCA of A’s Executive Director, Annette M. Waggoner. “From the overwhelming generosity of members in the morning to the palpable anticipation for the event during the day, to the finale in the early evening, when over a hundred members took a group photo with Karen Granger of 4KIDS. These colleagues masterfully collaborate during the year on behalf of their clients and today, they came together in the same collegial fashion for a worthy cause…so inspiring.” furtheredWaggoner.
4KIDS brings hope to babies, kids, teens, and young adults by providing safe and secure environments for healing, equipped parents and caregivers who are trained to love kids from hard places, essential resources to meet their physical needs, nurturing counsel to help them thrive, and a renewed sense of value in their hearts. For the thousands of children who are removed from their homes each year 4KIDS has hundreds of foster families across six (6) Florida counties to meet the need. More information can be found at 4KIDS - 4KIDS, Inc.
In addition to 4KIDS, Commercial Collection Agencies of America has also been fortunate to donate a portion of the profits from previous conferences to The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Wounded Warrior Project, Blessings in a Backpack, The ALS Association-Greater Chicago Chapter, The Red Cross, Mental Health Associates of Western New York, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, The Emily Stillman Foundation Ronald McDonald House – Atlanta and the American Diabetes Association.