Combined Charitable Campaign CCC saves lives

BWC People – Making a Difference

By Adam King, Public Information Officer

Industrial Safety Consultant Specialist Tammi Nye is fighting for her life — again, making this year’s state of Ohio Combined Charitable Campaign especially poignant.
“The money you donate through CCC can change someone’s life or even save it,” said Tammi, who works out of the Toledo Service Office. “I don’t need CCC’s support for my health issue, but I’m sure countless others do – our loved ones, neighbors and friends, and others who have no support at all.”

In August, Tammi learned the disease that destroyed both of her kidneys is back, this time targeting the transplanted kidney she received five years ago. The disease – Glomerulonephritis syndrome – is extremely rare in women, and in 25 years doctors have made almost no headway in determining why it appears or how to treat it.
“The goal right now is to preserve the organ and not lose it,” said Tammi. “So you kind of feel like you aren’t necessarily back to phase one, but you’ve lost ground. The medications are a struggle with cost and insurance and pharmacy coverage. There’s always some battle to fight somewhere, essentially to survive.”

Tammi said she can’t imagine anyone battling a major health issue without financial stability. That’s one reason she accepted an at-large board position with the Kidney Foundation of Northwest Ohio four years ago. The foundation serves 350 clients and distributes about $80,000 annually for medications, medical transportation, and supplements.

She said becoming a board member was a bit of a fluke. She responded to the organization’s Facebook post on Father’s Day to thank her living donor for giving her another year with her father. The director contacted her, and she’s been on the board since.

“You can feel you’re on your own if you don’t have an advocate or someone to educate you on certain things,” said Tammi, who uses her position to encourage organ donation, promote the foundation’s services, and share the ins and outs of being a kidney recipient.

Tammi said BWC was a lifesaver when she was hired in 2016. The year before that, and just two weeks after her successful kidney transplant, her employer of nearly 15 years told her that her safety manager position was eliminated.
Finding a new job wasn’t easy. Friends had to drive her to job fairs because she wasn’t allowed to drive for four months after surgery. Out of 40 jobs she applied for, BWC and a federal position were the only offers.

“So this must mean this is where I was meant to be,” she said.
Tammi started donating to the Kidney Foundation of Northwest Ohio through CCC in 2017 and has continued every year since. In 2018, the Toledo office highlighted the foundation as a donation destination. Tammi already made her donation, but she offered to match her colleagues’ contributions dollar for dollar, which raised another $600.

Every dollar raised this year is important because the Kidney Foundation had to cancel its largest and most successful fundraising event due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Tammi hopes people consider the foundation during CCC, in part because BWC has its own small kidney transplant community — three employees have received one and another is a donor.

“Even with the disease reoccurring, I’m on the right side of this process with a new organ, and I’m the healthiest I’ve felt in years,” said Tammi.

The CCC runs through Oct. 9. We’ve raised $169,070, or two-thirds of our goal of $253,000, as of Monday morning. You can choose the Kidney Foundation of Northwest Ohio using code 16040, or choose one of the many other deserving charities and organization in the 2020 Resource Guide. Visit myOhio.gov and click the myCCC button to start your donation or contact your area’s CCC coordinator for donation forms