Decatur – State Representative Dan Caulkins (R-Decatur) has launched an “Outreach 101” Initiative to donate his legislative salary to various charities and community groups throughout the 101st District.
At a Decatur press conference Tuesday, Rep. Caulkins outlined his plan for “Outreach 101” and introduced the committee members he has named to review requests for funds from the program.
“During the 2018 campaign, I pledged that as your state representative, I would not accept a legislative salary, pension or health care benefits,” Caulkins said. “Today, I am fulfilling that pledge. I’ve already rejected the pension and benefits and I will be donating my salary to worthy causes throughout the communities that make up my legislative district. ‘Outreach 101’ is a great initiative that will provide assistance to our seniors, veterans and youth groups for local projects and events.”
Rep. Caulkins’ annual legislative salary of $67,836 will be deposited directly into a separate account set up at a local bank. Caulkins will not accept any portion of his salary for himself. Net proceeds (minus taxes withheld) will be available for distribution to local charities and community groups through the “Outreach 101” Initiative.
The “Outreach 101” committee is made up of three volunteers with decades of local work experience and community service. Committee members include Vickie Buckingham, Kay Janvrin and Connie Ogden. The committee members will review requests for funding from local charities and community groups and make recommendations to Caulkins for final approval.
“I want to thank these wonderful ladies for volunteering their time to serve on my ‘Outreach 101’ committee,” Caulkins said. “They bring with them vast experience and local community involvement that will really help maximize the impact of this initiative. I’m very excited to get started and look forward to assisting as many local groups as possible.”
As the “Outreach 101” Initiative is technically a private program set up by Dan Caulkins, he is encouraging interested charities and community groups to apply for funding to his non-state email address dan@dancaulkins.com. Other than his legislative salary that Caulkins will be donating, no state resources will be used to distribute these funds to worthy causes.