Air Force bases in Europe readying fundraising drives
By MARK ABRAMSON | STARS AND STRIPES Published: March 20, 2009
Air Force bases across Europe are gearing up for this year’s Air Force Assistance Fund campaign.
The campaign raises money for organizations such as the Air Force Aid Society, which offers airmen loans for utilities, food, rent and other needs. It also benefits the General and Mrs. Curtis E. LeMay Foundation, which helps widows of Air Force retirees with grants, as well as other charitable groups.
"It’s our primary fundraiser," said retired Air Force Col. Jim Delaney, chief operating officer for the aid society. "Last year we put out $24 million [in assistance] with about 47 percent being grants, including emergency assistance grants."
About 67 percent of the money raised by AFAF goes to the aid society, which focuses on meeting the needs of Air Force servicemembers each year, not on keeping a reserve, Delaney added.
The Associated Press reported last month that from 2003 to 2007, Army Emergency Relief, another aid organization, kept $117 million in reserves and spent just $64 million on direct aid.
Veterans have assailed the organization, which is the biggest charity in the U.S. military and designed to help active-duty soldiers and Army retirees with cash emergencies and provide college scholarships. By contrast, the Associated Press reported, smaller Navy and Air Force charities put much more of their resources into aid than reserves.
The Air Force Assistance Fund campaign lasts about six weeks and each base sets its own goal and time frame. The service-wide goal is to raise $5.8 million, according to a release from RAF Mildenhall in England.
Mildenhall’s campaign kicks off Monday, and the goal this year is to raise $71,723.
Master Sgt. Nathan Burleson, the AFAF representative for Mildenhall’s 100th Comptroller Squadron, said AFAF representatives are trying to reach deployed airmen via e-mail and other means, and their goal is to make everyone based at Mildenhall aware of the campaign so everyone has the opportunity to give.
The campaign is in its third week at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, and organizers said they like what they see. The goal is to raise $168,549 at Ramstein, and the base has already raised more than $100,000.
