Alabama

Kate Duncan Smith DAR School

Alaska

Alaska Run for Women
Eagle River Boys & Girls Club of Alaska
Food Bank of Alaska
Team Alaska

Arizona

Empowerment Through Sports
ETS – Empowerment Through Sports
Phoenix Children’s Hospital Foundation
Trek for Teens

California

Crisis Support Services of Alameda County
Crisis Support Services of Alameda County
LA LGBT Center
River Oak Center for Children
Rocket Dog Rescue
San Diego Regional Fire&Emergency Svcs. Foundation

Colorado

EB Research Partnership
Great Strides Cystic Fibrosis
Great Strides Cystic Fibrosis
National Alliance for Mental Health (NAMI)
True Blue Foundation
True Blue Foundation Golf Outing

Connecticut

Julia’s Wings

Delaware

Food Bank of Delaware (annual)

District of Columbia

AFSP
PurpleStride-Pancreatic Cancer Walk
SMYAL – Sexual Minority Youth Assistance League
USASOA

Florida

Angel Flight SE
Childnet
Citizens for a Better Florida
Family Resources
Family Resources
Fish with a Hero
FISH with a Hero
Florida Veterans Foundation
Jacksonville Icemen Foundation
Loggerhead Marine Life Center
Moms for Sight
SafeSpace
Zebra Youth

Georgia

American Cancer Society
Berry College
Care International
Puzzle Piece Pastries
The Charlie Bates Solar Astronomy Project – Sunlit Earth

Hawaii

Habitat for Humanity – Maui
Maui Food Bank
Maui Humane Soceity

Idaho

Rays of Rare

Illinois

Go with the Flow
Wellness House

Indiana

Angels Anonymous of IN
Spencer Pride

Kansas

Kids TLC

Kentucky

Hindman Settlement School

Louisiana

Faith House
Hearts of Hope
Hospice of Acadiana
Monroe VFW

Maine

Project Puffin – National Audubon Society

Massachusetts

Catie’s Closet
Great Strides Cystic Fibrosis
Hillside School
Miles for Miracles

Michigan

Daughters of the American Revolution

Minnesota

360 Communities
Crescent Cove
Finnegans Community Fund
Gillette Children’s Hospital
Lakeville Cheer Boosters
MN Ace Camp
National Ataxia Foundation
Second Harvest Heartland/MN Zoo Foundation
Ten Thousand Books
University of MN-VMC Companion Animal Emergency Fund
ZMP Childcare Board

Montana

Our Little Haven

Nebraska

National Arbor Day Foundation

Nevada

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

New Hampshire

Cystic Fibrosis Foundation – Great Strides
End 68 Hours of Hunger (annual)
Family Promise of Southern NH
The Front Door Agency
Girls, Inc.
Merrimack Robotics Boosters
Nashua Children’s Home

New Jersey

Boy Scouts of Northern NJ
Just One Neighborhood Program
Partners for Kids and Families

Nevada

Nature Conservancy
Project 150
Three Square (annual)
UMC Foundation 5k

New Mexico

Alzheimers Association New Mexico Chapter

New York

AFSP
Boys and Girls Club Bellport Area
Brain Research Foundation
Branches Long Island
Lupus Foundation of Southern NY
Lustgarten Foundation
New Alternatives for LGBT Homeless Youth
The Book Fairies
The Butterfly Effect Project
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (988)
Tunnels to Towers

North Carolina

Crossnore Communities for Children
First Ward
Friends of Hamlet
Parkton Presbyterian Church Backpack Program

Puerto Rico

Hogar Cuna San Cristobal

Ohio

Downs on the Farm
Honor Flight
Summit County Children Services, Cherry St. Mission, Boys and Girls Club of Lorain County, Leading Families Home
Sylvania Youth Hockey
The Uniform Funding Foundation
Toys for Tots

Oklahoma

Challenge Air

Oregon

Bradley Angle
The Pongo Fund
Schoolhouse Supplies

Pennsylvania

Alpha Bravo Canine
Big Brother Big Sisters Independence region (PA/NJ)
Caitlin’s Smiles
Cuddle Me Program (annual)
Eagles Autism Challenge
Providence Animal Center
Toys for Tots
Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children

South Carolina

Christian Charities of Sumter
Justin Pepper House

Tennessee

Forrest Spence Fund 5k
Hope House
OUTMemphis
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

Utah Food Bank

Vermont

National Alliance for Mental Illness (NAMI)

Virginia

Virginia Tech Foundation

Vermont

Heart of Winooski Foundation

Washington

Catch a Dream Foundation
Communities in Schools of Washington State
Drive Fore the Troops
Northport American Legion
Ronald McDonald House
Spokane Valley Partners
The Jonah Project
The Storehouse
World Vision

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
NATCA National
Seattle ARTCC NATCA (ZSE)
The Rhodes Family

Ashley and Annie Olsen
Butch and Betty Cooper
Caesars Entertainment
Daniel Albo
Fort Worth ARTCC NATCA (ZFW)
Houston ARTCC NATCA (ZHU)
Indianapolis ARTCC NATCA (ZID)
John and Illeana Olinger
Kelly and Amanda Richardson
Kristen Laubach
New York ARTCC NATCA (ZNY)
New York TRACON NATCA (N90)
Region X Northwest Mountain (ENM)

David Romano
Kansas City ARTCC NATCA (ZKC)
Spokane ATCT/TRACON NATCA (GEG)

Anchorage ARTCC NATCA (ZAN)
Atlanta TRACON NATCA (A80)
Brad and Kristena Starkey
Jimmy and Miriam Clouse
Josh Holland
Kim Beckett
Memphis ARTCC NATCA (ZME)
Miami ARTCC NATCA (ZMA)
Patricia and John Gilbert
Scott and Dina Earl
Travis Weber

Aaron McCrea
Adam Humpal
Bill Statz
Brad and Christina Wilcko
Corrie Conrad
Devin Carlisto
Dina and Scott Earl
Erik Mandt
Gregory Sherven
Jason Arnold
Jason Boyde
Jeremy and Mikala Wacker
Jimmy Smith
John and Erin Murdock
Justin Sardineer
Kristen and Steve Lewandowski
Kyle McHugh
Lee Moore
Lisa Fulford
Matthew and Peach Baugh
Melissa Tinzmann
Natalie Foster
Ormond Beach ATCT (OMN)
Robert Gostanian
Robert Reddeg
Sean and Tara Groceman
Sonja Wong

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
Steve Lewandowski
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 [email protected] 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.