Troy-Based Charity Receives 'Casual Day' Funds from County Employees

The following information was provided by Oakland County.

Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson distributed $35,500 among 18 southeast Michigan organizations Tuesday during a ceremony in the lobby of the Executive Office Building. The funds were raised by county employees over the course of 2012 from Casual Day donations.

"The generosity of our county employees is exceeded only by their professionalism and commitment to serve the residents of Oakland County," Patterson said. "Casual Day is one of many ways our employees give back throughout the year."

In Troy, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation was among the recipients of the Casual Day funds. The mission of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, a nonprofit donor-supported organization, is to assure the development of the means to cure and control cystic fibrosis and to improve the quality of life for those with the disease. The Foundation is the leading organization in the United States devoted to cystic fibrosis. The Foundation played an integral role in the development and FDA approval of four therapies that are now a routine part of treatment regimens for many with CF.

The other Casual Day recipients for 2012 are:

• American Diabetes Association - Bingham Farms
• Baldwin Center - Pontiac
• Child Abuse and Neglect Council (CARE House) - Pontiac
• D-MAN Foundation - Rochester Hills
• Donate Life Coalition of Michigan - Ann Arbor
• FernCare - Ferndale
• Give-A-Christmas Year Round – Royal Oak
• Grace Centers of Hope - Pontiac
• Helping Hearts Helping Hands - Clarkston
• Kids Kicking Cancer - Detroit
• McLaren Children’s Health Services - Pontiac
• Oakland County Pioneer & Historical Society - Pontiac
• Oxford/Orion FISH - Orion Township
• Rainbow Connection - Rochester
• Rebuilding Together Oakland County - Farmington Hills
• Toys for Tots - Waterford
• Walk the Line to Spinal Cord Injury Recovery - Southfield

In addition, another $16,200 was given to 14 other organizations or people during the course of the year, including the families of West Bloomfield Officer Patrick O’Rourke, who was killed in the line of duty Sept. 9, and James Cram, Patterson’s security officer who was injured along with the county executive in an Aug. 10 automobile crash. That’s a total of nearly $52,000 donated by county employees this year to help those in need.

The Casual Day program allows employees in participating departments and divisions to wear jeans or dress casually on Thursdays or Fridays for a minimum donation of $1. Since its inception 20 years ago, Oakland County employees have donated well over a half million dollars, touching the lives of thousands of people. No taxpayer funds are used in the casual day program.