Tanesha Derico When Tanesha Derico was in college, her mother, a UAB employee, brought up the university’s Benevolent Fund to her for the first time. While Derico can’t remember exactly the context in which the Benevolent Fund came up, she does remember that her mother was passionate about using a portion of her paycheck to donate to the fund. She was eager to help not only fellow UAB employees in need but also designated nonprofits she cared about. Derico said her mother spoke of the opportunity to give through the Benevolent Fund all the time.

“She knew she wanted to give, and was looking over the list of nonprofits,” Derico said. “That struck me. I thought, ‘That’s pretty good that you’re able to donate and do things like that through your job.’”

Years later, in 2013, Derico became an employee at UAB, where she serves as a program coordinator at the Employee Assistance and Counseling Center (EACC), which falls under the Office of Human Resources. In her role, Derico is responsible for scheduling appointments with clients, managing staff schedules and other administrative work that makes the EACC run smoothly. When UAB Human Resources decided to host a Benevolent Fund fundraiser for a yearly campaign, Derico was asked to head the effort.

“I was asked to volunteer on that campaign, and I’ve been hooked ever since,” she said.

Afterwards, Benevolent Fund manager Lisa Higginbotham asked Derico to serve on the Benevolent Fund Council—an entity with 60 seats composed of employees across the academic and medical campuses. Derico accepted, and has served on the council since 2016, cementing the fund even closer to her heart. (This year she serves as vice president of the council, and in 2023, she will become president.) Throughout her six years on the council, she has served on three different committees, including the Community Impact Grant Committee a few years ago, where she was able to help distribute a $50,000 grant to a nonprofit in the area.

She’s also seen the impact the Benevolent Fund’s Employee Emergency Assistance Program (EEAP) has had on its recipients. The EEAP exists to give funding to employees in financial need; this committee is yet another that Derico has served on and is the basis of one of the most powerful moments she’s witnessed during her time on the council.

“At one of our yearly Benevolent Fund events, a past emergency assistance employee came back and told his story,” she said. “He’d gone through a tough time—his wife had cancer, and he was just really struggling. He came to the Benevolent Fund to ask for assistance, and we were able to assist not only financially, but to give other resources he and his family could use. I remember hearing his story and being like ‘Yes, this is definitely something where, when you sign up for it, you help as many people as possible.’”

Through her six years on the council, Derico has had the opportunity to work across the different aspects of the Benevolent Fund, through the initial fundraising campaign she was involved in and through hands-on volunteering.

“It not only helps the UAB community as a whole, but nonprofit agencies as well,” she said. “With the Benevolent Fund, you know you have people with a heart of service. I can’t say enough about Lisa [Higginbotham] and the great things the Benevolent Fund is doing. I’m happy to contribute to that and be a part of it. I think about the impact—in terms of things people are going through, we have no idea what’s going on in people’s lives. Someone may need help with a utility bill or needs help with their next meal, and the Benevolent Fund is able to offer assistance to them. Being able to contribute monthly and yearly—I will do it wholeheartedly.”

Giving back financially is also important to Derico. In addition to volunteering her time with the council and her sweat equity through hands-on volunteering like with Blazer Kitchen and Habitat for Humanity builds—a cause particularly near and dear to her heart since her mother lives in a home built by Habitat—she is passionate and committed to contributing a portion of her monthly paycheck to the fund, something she has done ever since she was hired at UAB nearly a decade ago.

“I will always contribute monthly,” she said. “The Benevolent Fund’s impact is so big—of course, UAB is a huge entity, but the Benevolent Fund not only impacts UAB, but it also spreads out into the community, Jefferson County and beyond as well. The impact reaches so far, and if I’m able to be involved and assist in any way, I think it’s a wonderful way for me to be of service.”

Take it from Derico, as someone who has seen the ins and outs of the Benevolent Fund’s impact over the past decade—and even further back, to when her mother introduced her to the fund: the work done through the fund truly makes a difference.

“If anyone is having second thoughts, please donate your time and contribute to the Benevolent Fund,” she said. “It will go a very long way.”