KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany — Two Spangdahlem airmen raised $9,500 in cash and other donations in just one month for wounded servicemembers at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center.
The money and donations, such as clothes and iPods, are for the hospital’s Wounded Warrior Program, said Staff Sgt. Christina Camp. Her sidekick, Airman 1st Class Emilymae Beckett, added that some of the money will help the war injured leave the hospital for the occasional day trip.
In early March, Camp said, a supervisor asked her to lead an effort to collect items for the program on behalf of the 726th Air Mobility Squadron.
“It started out with a box at the entrance” to the squadron headquarters, Camp said Wednesday. Interest quickly caught on. “It was crazy how many people wanted to be involved,” she said.
Things really took off once Camp joined forces with Beckett, a paralegal.
The most novel idea the pair concocted was a breakfast at which attendees donned a fake mustache while they ate. Soon, donation boxes could be found across the base. The spouses and enlisted club donated $3,000 and its counterpart on the officer side chipped in $1,000, while the local VFW post gave money and food supplies for a spaghetti feast.
Camp said the effort generated so many volunteers she and Beckett were challenged just to find things for people to do. This led to talks with the VFW about holding quarterly events as well as an annual fundraiser.
To learn more about making donations of about the Wounded Warrior Program, email:
