DSF Gives Out FIVE Grants In One Week

Last week was a busy one. Thanks to generous donations we receive throughout the year, we were able to provide assistance to five different families within the DS community:

  • $2,500.00 to the family of a local guard at the US Embassy Kabul (Afghanistan) who perished in a suicide bombing at his mosque. He had been with the embassy for 10 years. He leaves behind a wife and 8 children (aged 2 months to 21 years)

  • $1,000 to the family of a local guard at US Consulate General Kolkata (India) who succumbed to complications of COVID-19. He had been with the embassy for 23 years. He leaves behind a wife who is pregnant with their first child

  • $4,000 to an employee at US Embassy San Salvador (El Salvador) whose home was destroyed in a flood.

  • $500 to the family of a local guard at the US Embassy Port-au-Prince (Haiti), who succumbed from complications from COVID-19, to cover funeral expenses. He had been with the embassy for 22 years

  • $2,500 to the family of a police officer at the US Embassy Mexico City (Mexico). He succumbed to complications of COVID-19. He had been a member of the perimeter protection team for the past 17 years

Sending strength and support to those going through difficult times and wishing good health to all within the DS community.

For more information on DSF Grants, click HERE.

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Join us October 19th for the (rescheduled) DSF 2020 Charity Golf Outing!

June 1st, the original date for our 2020 DSF Charity Golf outing has come and gone. Alas, COVID-19 put the breaks on that for all of us. Darn it!

Hopefully you’ve all already taken a sharpie to your calendar and blocked off Monday October 19th for our rescheduled event. We can’t wait to see you. We know it’s going to be great!

We’ve transferred everyone’s registration to the new date – fingers crossed that October 19th works for everyone.

IF YOU’RE COMING OCTOBER 19:

If you’ve paid already – you’re all set.
If you haven’t paid yet – you can at any time, just visit our quick pay page: dsfoundation.org/golf-payment (but no rush, we won’t start harassing you until the start of fall!)


IF YOU CAN’T COME OCTOBER 19:

Please let us know soonest so we can open up the space for others.

If you’ve already paid, we can either:

Refund your fees
Convert your fees to a tax deductible donation
Your pick! We’ll honor refunds up until Sept 30.

If you have friends or colleagues who are interested in golfing or sponsoring, send them to our golf registration page. We’re happy to have them!

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And lastly, a huge shout out to those who have already sponsored this event. Be sure to check out our list of current sponsors here: dsfoundation.org/sponsors We can't thank our sponsors enough!!!

We hope everyone is happy and healthy – we look forward to seeing you October 19th!

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DSF Provides Grant to Local Businessman Helping Those in Need

Last week, some members of the DSF Board had the honor of presenting a $3,000 donation to Red’s BBQ and Pizzeria in Ashburn, Virginia, in support of its relief program providing free meals to those in need in the Loudoun County area. Reds is owned and operated by DS Special Agent Jason Banks.

Over the past few weeks, Jason "Red" Banks has been cooking up & serving free meals to those in need from his "rig" - a Texas-sized barbecue and pizza oven on wheels.

We are thrilled to be able to help Jason continue his campaign to help feed some of those struggling during these uncertain times and are incredibly proud of his efforts.

Left to right: Garrett Smith (DSSAA President and DSF board member), Red Banks, Allegra Sensenig (DSF Treasurer), Greg Starr (DSF President) and John Hampson (DSF Vice President)

Left to right: Garrett Smith (DSSAA President and DSF board member), Red Banks, Allegra Sensenig (DSF Treasurer), Greg Starr (DSF President) and John Hampson (DSF Vice President)

DSF Sends Out Two New Grants

DSF sent out two new grants last week.

One was for $1,500 to the family of a local guard at US Embassy Jakarta (Indonesia) who passed away from complications of COVID-19. He’d been with the embassy for 17 years. He leaves behind a wife and two teenage children.

The second was for $8,000 to the family of a local police officer at U.S. Embassy in Tunis (Tunisia) who was killed attempting to stop a suicide bombing at the embassy. He was a 28-year veteran of the guard force. He leaves behind a wife and three young children.

We are thankful for the service of those who we have lost, and are honored to be able to help those in the DS family during their times of need.

If you wish to make a donation to DSF, you can do so HERE

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THANK YOU SPONSORS!

While we’ve postponed the golf event until Oct 19, we still have many Sponsors who have already signed up and we don’t want to have to wait to give them a BIG “Thank You!”

The awesome companies listed below are supporting DSF and the DSF Golf Outing with generous donations.  Big or small, these sponsorship dollars help us provide for those who keep American diplomacy safe. From the bottom of our hearts – THANK YOU!

Additionally, Registration is open for those who would like to be a Sponsor and/or golf in our October event – visit our website for more information!

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30th Annual DSF Golf Outing POSTPONED

In this time of great uncertainty, everyone’s first priority is the welfare of their families, employees, and community.  It is also our collective responsibility to follow what is being asked of us by health care professionals.  After much thought and deliberation, the DSF Board of Directors has decided to postpone the 30th Annual DSF Charity Golf Outing.  While it is everyone’s hope that the world will be easing back to normalcy by our originally scheduled date of June 1, there is too much uncertainty now to plan effectively for our outing. Moving the event gives us the breathing room to plan and move forward. We are fortunate that our golf venue, Lansdowne Resort, is able to move our event to Monday, October 19, 2020.

We are keeping registration open through the coming months, for both golfers and sponsors, so please continue to sign up.  Golfers may cancel through October 1st and get a full refund or, in lieu of a refund, may convert the fee to a donation.  Sponsors may request a refund through September 1st.  It is our hope that many of you will sign up to be a Hole Sponsor ($150).  We need your support now more than ever. Register here: dsfoundation.org/golf

This event is our main fundraiser of the year.  We rely on the money raised to continue our mission of providing for those in the DS global community who are suffering from hardship or crisis.  We are extremely grateful to our current sponsors, many who joined us only this week in the midst of so much uncertainty.  A big shout out to our current sponsors: Caliburn, Chevron, Comcast, Constellis, Copper River IT, DB4 Consulting, Fiserv, GDIT, GTS, Inter-Con, KBR, PAE, PepsiCo, SOC, Toyota, Velocity Systems. We are also grateful to the many who have signed up as a $150 Hole Sponsor (visit our sponsor page for a list of all our amazing sponsors: dsfoundation.org/sponsors)

For those of you who have already signed up to golf and/or sponsor, we offer you three options: 

  • Unless we hear otherwise from you, we will move your registration/sponsorship to the new date

  • You can request a full refund

  • You can convert your payment to a donation

Please feel free to reach out to us via Sarah Rothleder, DSF Executive Director (sarah@dsfoundation.org), if you have questions, concerns or suggestions.  Thank you to all for your patience and understanding during this challenging time. We look forward to gathering with our friends in October and enjoying another fun and successful golf outing. 

Thank you, again, for your support.

The DSF Board of Directors

Greg Starr, President

John Hampson, Vice President

Allegra Sensenig, Treasurer

Doug Allison, Secretary

Members-At-Large:

Jeff Bozworth

Chris Disney

Steve Rice

Jason Santiago

Garrett Smith (DSSAA President)

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REGISTER NOW for The 30th Annual DSF Mike Considine Charity Golf Outing

Monday June 1st, 2020
The Golf Club at Lansdowne Resort, Lansdowne, VA

The Diplomatic Security Foundation (DSF) is pleased to announce the 30th annual DSF Charity Golf Outing, started by Mike Considine in 1990. This is our main fundraiser of the year and funds raised by the event are used to provide grants to members of the worldwide DS "family" during times of hardship or crisis. Since our inception in 1995, DSF has given out more than $1,000,000 in grants. We're humbled by the ability to, in some small way, help these families (visit our GRANTS page for a full list). It is thanks to our awesome donors, sponsors and golfers that we have the funds to continue this mission.  With your support, we are hopeful that this year's event will be our most successful yet.

This event is for golfers of ALL skill levels (hackers welcome!) and is a great opportunity to play on one of the premier golf courses in the DC area. There are fabulous prizes, fun contests and an exciting raffle.  Registration includes green fees, cart, continental breakfast, course beverage cart, awards luncheon, and unlimited range balls.

REGISTER NOW - WE WILL SELL OUT SOON!

DSF Scholarship Application Now Available!

The 2020 DSF Scholarship application is now available! What is it? A $2500 award for a high school senior who is a child/grandchild/stepchild of a DS employee/contractor (not just Special Agents), planning on attending any institute of "higher" learning at the university, community or vocational level. Visit our website for specifics and a list of past winners. Last year we gave out $24,000 in scholarships! Deadline to apply is May 15. Awards announced in July!

Click here for more information and to apply.

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Join Team DSS at National Police Week 5K 2020

You are invited to join the Diplomatic Security Special Agents Association (DSSAA) for the 2020 National Police Week 5K (NPW 5K) Walk/Run on Saturday, May 9th. Last year Team-DSS won five awards; 1st Place Team Overall, Largest Running Team, 3rd Place Overall Individual Runner, Men Over 60 Top-3 Finisher, and 1st Place Men Under 20. Click HERE to join Team-DSS!

Every year the week which contains May, 15th is designated as “National Police Week”. This year at least 134 names will be added to the memorial wall in Washington, D.C. Between 25,000 - 40,000 members of law enforcement, family, friends, and supporters come together in Washington, DC to honor the more than 21,000 LEOs who have fallen in the line of duty.

We invite everyone in Diplomatic Security to take time out of your schedule and participate in the great events during this week. Please see the links below for the schedule of events. There are formal events at Judiciary Square and informal events at RFK Stadium which include music and displays.

Team-DSS:
We invite all employees, contractors, family members, and friends to come walk/run as part of Team-DSS. NPW is a family event and we want you there! The overall team time is an average of the top three finishers from each team, not the entire team. Therefore, feel free to walk, stroll, or jog. Everyone is welcome at this amazing annual experience.

How to Participate:
If you wish to join Team DSS at the NPW 5K in Washington, DC on Saturday, May 09 please sign up HERE. When you sign up, use Team Name "Diplomatic Security". The registration fee goes directly to support funds which support fallen LEOs.

In addition to the NPW 5K running shirt you will receive a Team-DSS running shirt. The Team-DSS shirt will be paid for by DSSAA. The last day to register and receive a Team-DSS shirt is April 26th! Please see the DSSAA website for more information.

NPW 5K at Post:
NPW 5k allows overseas teams to register and participate. Traditionally overseas teams form their own teams and host a 5K that day without formal registration. Just notify DSSAA and provide pictures. Team DSS shirts are available for purchase HERE and include free shipping to CONUS/APO/FPO/DPO addresses. All profits go to the Diplomatic Security Foundation (DSF).

Remember to send us photos of your event so we can post them on our websites and on social media!

For more information or questions, be sure to visit the following links, or contact us via email at info@dsfoundation.org and contactus@dssaa.org

National Police Week Links:
Team-DSS NPW 5K Page
Team-DSS Shirt
National Police Week Home
Police Week 5K Home
Police Week Tent City
Officer Down Memorial Page

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We just earned a 2019 Gold Seal on GuideStar

We just earned a 2019 Gold Seal by adding information to our Nonprofit Profile on GuideStar. Now our community members as well as 10+ million GuideStar users can find in-depth information about our goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress. We’re shining a spotlight on the difference we help make in the world. Plus, we’ve provided fresh information to 200+ charitable websites and applications that use GuideStar data, such as AmazonSmile, Facebook, and Network for Good. What do you think? Check out our profile at https://www.guidestar.org/profile/52-1909558. GuideStar is the world’s largest source of information on nonprofit organizations. Foundation Center and GuideStar have joined forces to become a new nonprofit called Candid.

DSF Gives Out Four Grants in One Week

The Diplomatic Security Foundation was able to give out four new grants to members of our DS Worldwide family last week.

 

·       $2,500 to the surviving family of a local guard at the U.S. Embassy Accra, Ghana, who perished in an auto accident

 

·       $5,000 to a security technician at the U.S. Embassy Ottawa, Canada, to help cover uninsured medical costs for his son who is battling cancer

 

·       $3,000 to the surviving spouse and young son of a local guard at the U.S. Consulate General Surabaya, Indonesia. An 18-year employee of the consulate, the guard had died suddenly at the age of 45

 

·       $5,000 to a local guard and his family at the U.S. Embassy Tirana, Albania, whose house and possessions were destroyed in an earthquake.

 

We are so grateful to everyone who donated to DSF in 2019!  Your generosity allowed us to help the families listed above, as well as many others throughout the year.  If you haven’t yet made your year-end donations – please consider contributing to DSF.  https://www.dsfoundation.org/donate-now

For more information on all the grants given out in 2019, please see our grants page: https://www.dsfoundation.org/grants-current

THANK YOU and may 2020 bring Peace and Happiness to you & yours!

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Providing for those in our DSF "family"

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The past month has been busy and humbling here at DSF. We’ve had a flurry of grant requests from Embassies around the world, and as a result have approved $20,000 in grants.  We’ve helped the families of local guards in Ghana, The Gambia, and Kosovo who are dealing with the loss of their beloved husband/father/son.  We’re assisting local guards in Sudan and Greece as they recover from illnesses and injuries. And we just approved a grant to a guard in Iraq to help with expenses as his family takes their 1 year old daughter to India for corrective heart surgery. (Visit our grants page https://www.dsfoundation.org/grants for a full list)

It is so humbling to be able to help these DS “families” during their times of need. We are honored that so many of you support DSF with donations that allow us to continue this important work.

If you haven’t donated to DSF yet this year, we hope you’ll take a moment this month and show your support. Go to our website and donate directly. Make a pledge via the CFC (our #96262). Create a Fundraiser on Facebook. Or pick us as your charity of choice on Amazon as you shop.

https://www.dsfoundation.org/donate

https://cfcgiving.opm.gov/welcome (DSF #96262)

https://facebook.com/DSFoundation

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DS Alumni Lunch: Now open to ALL! Renamed the Denny Williams DS Luncheon

We’re excited to announce that our friends at DSSAA (Diplomatic Security Special Agents Association) have taken over hosting duties for the biannual DS Alumni Lunch. We’re excited to announce that they have made a few changes to this fun event:  

  1. DSSAA has changed the name to remember and honor Denny Williams, one of the founders of the DS Alumni Luncheon and the driving force behind it for years.

  2. Instead of focusing on alumni, the event will now be open to ALL DS employees: current, former and retired. The luncheon will now be a part of DSSAA’s regular event schedule.

The next Denny Williams DS Luncheon will be held next week, on Friday, November 15th at the Maggiano’s Tyson Corner from 1100-1400 (Lunch served at 1130). Tickets must be purchased in advanced, and cost $27. Ticket sales end Sunday, November 10. Dress code is business casual. For tickets and more information, visit the DSSAA website: https://dssaa.org/ds-luncheon

Just recorded: our first 2019 CFC pledge!

Now we need others to get on board and do the same! The 2019 CFC Campaign runs through January 12, 2020 - but don’t wait! Make your pledge today. Please include DSF in your giving.  Federal Retirees don’t forget you can participate as well!

Visit our website for more info: https://www.dsfoundation.org/cfc

Visit the CFC giving page to make your pledge: CFC https://cfcgiving.opm.gov/welcome

DSF’s CFC number is: #96262

#ShowSomeLoveCFC

Donate to DSF through the new PayPal Giving Fund

Here’s another cool (& easy) way to donate to the Diplomatic Security Foundation!

PayPal has created its own nonprofit called the PayPal Giving Fund, where they are raising funds to benefit charities, such as DSF. When you use PayPal, you can now choose to make a donation to your favorite charity (like DSF!) and the PayPal Giving Fund covers all the costs of processing your donation so that 100% of your donation goes to the charity; no credit card fees! Yippee!

For more information & to set DSF as your favorite charity, click here:

https://www.paypal.com/us/fundraiser/charity/2302744

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Support DSF During the 2019 CFC Campaign!

The 2019 CFC Campaign kicked off this week and runs through January 12, 2020. DSF receives about $30K every year from the CFC, so we hope you’ll include DSF in your giving!  Federal Retirees don’t forget you can participate as well!

Visit our website for more info: https://www.dsfoundation.org/cfc

DSF’s CFC number is: #96262

Visit the CFC giving page to make your pledge!

CFCNCA https://cfcnca.org/how-make-pledge

CFC https://cfcgiving.opm.gov/welcome

#ShowSomeLoveCFC

NEGRONI NIGHT AT US EMBASSY DILI RAISES FUNDS FOR DSF

They may be small, but boy are they mighty! US Embassy Dili, Timor-Leste recently raised $708 for DSF!

A HUGE thank you to our friend Lech Kazmirski, RSO US Embassy Dili, Timor-Leste, for once again organizing & hosting his “world famous” Negroni Night to benefit DSF!

Lech started this event in 2016 at US Embassy Dakar and has hosted the fundraiser every year - moving the party to Dili this year. All the proceeds from the evening came to DSF and we are so appreciative of Lech for his continued support of our mission. We, of course, also want to give a big shout out & thank you to everyone at Dili who participated and donated to this year’s event!

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