Alaska

Eagle River Boys and Girls Club Of Alaska
Food Bank of Alaska

Arizona

EAA Chapter 228 At FFZ
Empowerment Through Sports
Sky Kids

California

Assistance League
Good Dog! Service Canines
Hugs and Bags
River Oak Center for Children
San Diego Regional Fire & EMS Services Foundation

Colorado

Cystic Fibrosis Foundation
Servicios De La Raza
True Blue Foundation

Delaware

Delaware Pet Rescue
Food Bank of Delaware

District of Columbia

Community of Hope
SMYAL
United Soldiers and Sailors of America (USASOA)

Florida

Angel Flight SE
Childnet
Family Resources
Fish with a Hero
Jacksonville Icemen Foundation
Loggerhead Marine Life Center

Georgia

Charlie Bates Solar Astronomy Project – Sunlit Earth
Cocos Cupboard

Idaho

Rays of Rare

Illinois

Go with the Flow

Indiana

American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
Special Olympics of Indiana
Angels Anonymous of Indiana

Kansas

Kids TLC

Kentucky

Foundation for Appalachian Kentucky

Louisiana

Faith House
Hearts of Hope
The Wellspring

Massachusetts

Catie’s Closet
Forgotten Angels Shelter
Great Strides – Cystic Fibrosis
St. Jude Cycle Challenge

Minnesota

360 Communities
Finnegan’s Community Fund
Minnesota Ace Camp
Minnesota Zoo Foundation
Second Harvest Heartland
Ten Thousand Books
ZMP Childcare Board

Missouri

Evangelical Children’s Home
Operation Food Search

Nevada

Help of Southern Nevada
Nature Conservancy
Project 150
Three Square
UMC Foundation

New Hampshire

End 68 Hours of Hunger
Family Promise of Southern New Hampshire
Girls, Inc.
Merrimack Robotics Boosters
Nashua Children’s Home

New Jersey

Hounds in Pounds
Just One Neighborhood Program
Unchained At Last

New Mexico

Alzheimer’s Association New Mexico
New York
Brain and Behavior Research Foundation
Branches Long Island
Buffalo Sabres Sled Hockey
Lustgarten Foundation
National Hemophilia Foundation
New Alternatives for LGBT Homeless Youth
New York Road Runners
The Book Fairies
The Butterfly Effect Project
The Ovarian Cancer Research Project
Tunnels to Towers

North Carolina

Crossed – The Youth Law Center
First Ward Community Fund
Friends of Hamlet
Parkton Presbyterian Church Backpack Drive
The Bicycle Man Outreach Project

Puerto Rico

Fundacion Golitos
Hogar Cuna San Cristóbal
Union Community Fund

Ohio

Downs on The Farm
Eriesponsible
Honor Flight
Summit County Children’s Services

Oklahoma

Challenge Air

Oregon

Schoolhouse Supplies
Family Solutions
Transponder

Pennsylvania

Alpha Bravo Canine
Big Brothers Big Sisters Independence Region
Cuddle Me Program
Toys for Tots

South Carolina

Christian Charities of Sumter
Force Blue Team
Justin Pepper House

Tennessee

Forrest Spence Fund
Hope House
Project K9 Hero

Texas

6 Stones
Bear…Be A Resource For Kids
Desert Downs BMX After School Program
Houston Food Bank
Kids Matter International
Montana Vista Elementary School
Riding Unlimited
Texas Oncology Foundation
The National Multiple Sclerosis Society

Utah

Sippy Cups and Chardonnay
Utah Food Bank

Vermont

Heart of Winooski Foundation

Virginia

Virginia Tech Foundation

Washington

Communities In Schools Of Washington State
Multi-care Foundation – Come Walk with Me
Multiservice Center
Northport American Legion
Ronald McDonald House
The Jonah Project
The Storehouse

Wisconsin

Manitowoc Salvation Army

National
Kidpower International
Susan G. Komen Foundation                                
World Central Kitchen

Backpack Programs
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
California
Colorado
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Indiana
Kansas
Kentucky
Maine
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Nevada
New Jersey
New York
New York
North Carolina
Ohio
Oregon
South Carolina
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Washington
Washington, D.C.

Holiday Programs
Arizona
California
Florida
Hawaii
Indiana
Louisiana
Michigan
Minnesota
Missouri
New Hampshire
New York
North Carolina
Ohio
Oregon
Pennsylvania
South Carolina
Texas
Washington
Washington, D.C.

American Airlines
Jacksonville ARTCC – ZJX
Leidos
Miami ARTCC – ZMA
Minneapolis ARTCC – ZMP
NATCA National
Seattle ARTCC – ZSE
Washington ARTCC – ZDC

Butch and Betty Cooper
Caesars Entertainment
Fort Worth ARTCC – ZFW
Houston ARTCC – ZHU
John and Andrea Orr
John and Illeana Olinger
Kansas City ARTCC – ZKC
Kristen Laubach
New York Center – ZNY
New York TRACON – N90
The Rhodes Family

CSSI

Amanda and Kelly Richardson
Anchorage ARTCC – ZAN
Atlanta TRACON – A80
Augusta ATCT – AGS
Brad and Kristena Starkey
COPA Safety and Education Foundation
Corrie Conrad
David Romano
Indianapolis ARTCC – ZID & Great Lakes Region
Jeremy and Mikala Wacker
John and Trish Gilbert
Salt Lake City TRACON – S56
Scott Fineron
Seattle TRACON – S46
Spokane ATCT/TRACON – GEG

Aaron McCrea
Adam Humpal
Ashley and Annie Olsen
Bill Statz
Dallas Fort Worth ATCT – DFW
Devin Carlisto
Erik Mandt
Greensboro ATCT – GSO
Jason Arnold
Jason Boyde
Jimmy and Miriam Clouse
John and Erin Murdock
Joshua Hollands
Kimberly Beckett
Kyle McHugh
Lisa Fulford
Matthew and Peach Baugh
Melissa Tinzmann
Mike Christine
Natalie Foster
New Bedford Panoramex (NBP)
Potomac TRACON – PCT
Randy L. Moore Jr.
Region X – Central Region
Scott and Dina Earl
Sean and Tara Groceman
Travis Weber
Trevor Barry

NCF – Get to know us!

The NATCA Charitable Foundation thrives on seeking out areas of need that go un-funded or are missed through typical donor drives. We seek out organizations that serve a similar purpose, to help the under-served. Across the country, one program at a time, NATCA members, friends and family all volunteer to help bring smiles to children and adults in need. Our programs vary from year to year. This link reflects a list of our most current programs. The smiles and cheers from the many we assist make any number of volunteer hours a worthy endeavor. Please contact us with any questions about current or new programs. We love to hear from our supporters as we continue to make every dollar count!

Executive Board/NCF Team

Directors:
Kimberly Beckett
Jason Boyde
Andrew LeBovidge
Elisa Muise
Andrea Orr

Officers:
Corrie Conrad – President
Betsy Beaumont – Vice President
Kristen Laubach – Secretary
Krissy Lewandowski – Treasurer

Events Committee:
Jason Boyde – Chairman
Kimberly Beckett
Kaitlynn Cornett
Kristen Lewandowski
Victoria Taggio

**Please email NATCA Charitable at natcacharitable@natca.net for any questions regarding financial information.**

In August 1994, Darrell Meachum, a Fort Worth Center controller, hoped to pool the efforts of many NATCA locals that ran charity fundraisers and bring recognition to the air traffic control profession. His wife Cathy, a dental hygienist with a background running auctions for the American Cancer Society, shared his passion.

Their solution? Form an organization that highlighted the incredible charitable work air traffic controllers were already doing and give them an avenue to expand. They called it the NATCA Charitable Foundation (NCF). Originally incorporated in Texas, the organization expanded to Florida in 2001, and to Georgia the next year. The long-term goal was to make it a nationwide entity, but in measured steps to prevent a good idea from “crumbling under its own weight due to poor implementation,” said Darrell, who also served as NATCA’s Southwest Regional Vice President from 2003-09.

That type of far-flung expansion is something some never imagined possible when he envisioned the foundation, but just six years after its creation, the foundation raised more than $17,000 at the 2000 Biennial Convention in Anchorage. As NCF President, Cathy Meachum would go on to mentor Elena Nash, who served as NCF President from 2011-2017, only recently passing the baton this year to new NCF President Corrie Conrad.

NCF quickly became a success and NATCA officially recognized Cathy’s ongoing efforts with an honorary lifetime membership. It was the first time NATCA bestowed the tribute on someone wholly outside the air traffic control profession. Cathy, who’d been an associate member for 7 years, was in shock, saying it is an honor beyond expression.

“They’re amazed at how far we’ve come and how much we’ve accomplished,” Cathy Meachum said. “They didn’t think it was feasible to get a bunch of people to do all this work by volunteers only.”

The absence of paid staff members enables NCF to donate nearly 96 percent of the money it raises. In the 1990s, a core group of about 20 volunteers ran the organization, including satellite offices in Houston, Texas, Jacksonville, Fla., and Peachtree City, Ga. In 2001, the foundation gave $43,000 to more than two-dozen charities and families across the country. NCF income has grown steadily since then — with a total of $153,575 in charitable donations by the end of 2001 to $200,000 of charitable donations in 2016 — focusing on areas that aren’t being met by other charities.

For the Meachums, giving back to their communities was always the driving force behind everything they did.

Shortly before Christmas 2000, Darrell Meachum and a colleague hefted a dilapidated table up a flight of stairs to a two-bedroom apartment in a low-income suburb northeast of Fort Worth, Texas. Cathy and their volunteer helper had driven 40 miles to retrieve the item from the donor’s outdoor porch. Its weather-beaten condition made them shake their heads in dismay. Grime covered the white Formica top and splotches of rust were corroding the metal trim and legs.

It belonged in a dump.

But the trio did their best to wipe off the dirt before setting out to deliver it to a single mother and her three young boys. They were one of several families “adopted” that holiday season by the NATCA Charitable Foundation, a tradition that continues today at many facilities across the country.

While maneuvering the table into the apartment, they noticed that the only furniture outside the bedrooms consisted of a shabby couch and a small television sitting atop a nightstand. They made three more trips to lug in a donated microwave, pots and pans, a laundry basket full of toiletries, and two armloads of holiday gifts — under the ecstatic gazes of the youngsters and their mother.

As soon as the table and four vinyl-padded chairs were positioned in front of a window near the kitchen, the boys jumped onto their newfound seats. Beaming, they set their hands on the table as if holding forks and knives.

“Look, ma, a table,” they exclaimed.

“Can we have a meal at our table?”

The mother was speechless.

Such scenes are one of the most rewarding aspects of the NATCA Charitable Foundation. Cathy Meachum said recipients “inevitably are crying because they’re so happy and we’re just beside ourselves.”

NCF has always put in a lot of effort in choosing which charities to support, hoping to make the biggest impact. A Dallas-area shelter for abused women, which regularly needs undergarments, towels, and art supplies for children, who often use creative outlets to deal with their emotional trauma was an early beneficiary of those efforts. NCF also favors helping children who are disadvantaged, disabled, and terminally ill, along with national charities such as the American Heart Association, Cystic Fibrosis Association, and Habitat for Humanity.

Visiting terminally ill children and disadvantaged people surviving on the edge of poverty can be uncomfortable, Darrell Meachum said. But, he adds, “You know that you’ve done something for the good of the community and that you’ve given something back in the name of your profession and your union.”

Cathy Meachum noted that persuading detail-oriented controllers to donate is sometimes a challenge.

“They want to know the full picture before they commit to anything,” she said. “But once they see it, they jump in full body. They are overwhelmingly generous.”

From its humble beginning, the Meachum’s legacy continues to be felt and honored today, with NCF naming it’s annual Volunteer of the Year Award after Cathy, awarded at Communicating For Safety every year.

NCF is a non profit 501(c)(3) Corporation with supporters and programs across the country. Today, it continues to be a 100 percent volunteer organization with volunteers of all ages and professions. They are proud that their operating expense ratio has remained below five percent since being established in 1998.