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Taking care of fellow Airmen: Annual Air Force Assistance Fund drive set to kick off

  • Published
  • By Howdy Stout
  • Tinker Public Affairs
TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla., --  Organizers this year are hoping to raise more than $99,000 at Tinker Air Force Base for the annual Air Force Assistance Fund fundraising drive, according to 1st Lt. Nicholas Wilson, the installation project officer at Tinker.

"We're hoping to raise as much as we did last year," Lieutenant Wilson said.

The six-week campaign begins Monday and is the Air Force's only official charity drive. Each unit will have a person contacting each military member, who may donate by giving cash, check or allotment. The minimum allotment is one dollar per month for a minimum of three months. Civilian employees will not be solicited, but may contribute with cash or checks.

"This year we want to combine the monetary goal with a goal of 50 percent participation," said Ms. Julia Gant, Air Force Aid Society officer at the Airman and Family Readiness Center.

Proceeds from donations are used to support a number of services, including the Air Force Aid Society. A non-profit group started in 1942, the society provides grants or interest-free loans through the Airman and Family Readiness Center to Air Force members and dependents, often in emergency circumstances.

Ms. Gant said the society provided more than $250,000 in grants and loans at Tinker last year, the vast majority of the money being loans for unexpected financial emergencies. Those emergencies range from major car repairs to leaves requiring travel.

"There are all kinds of scenarios," explained Ms. Gant, "It's all based on need."

Often times a financial emergency may mean temporary trouble in covering other expenses, such as rent or mortgage payments. And for many young airmen with little or no savings or experience in managing a personal budget, one financial crisis is one too many.

The existence of the fund, Ms. Gant said, is an alternative to obtaining a short-term loan from a bank or a payday loan company that might charge high interest rates with quick payback times. And although laws have changed limiting the amount of interest a lender may charge military personnel, it can still be as high as 30 percent.

"Once they get in it," Ms. Gant said, "it may be tough to get out."

In contrast, the society's loans are interest free. And with the new Falcon Loan introduced last year, Airmen may borrow up to $500 immediately with little paperwork and a simple repayment plan of 10 payments of $50 each.

"This is a good option," Ms. Gant said. "We did this so someone wouldn't have to go to a payday loan company."

In most cases, Ms. Gant said, consultants from the Readiness Center will help borrowers set a personal budget with an affordable repayment plan.

In addition to loans and grants, the Air Force Aid Society offers a number of $2,000 college scholarships to dependents, free pre-paid phone cards for soon-to-be-deployed Airmen, free certificates for oil changes to Air Force spouses deployed longer than 30 days, the Heartlink program for orientation of new spouses of Airmen, and 20 hours of free child care for PCSing members.

"We really get a lot for the money," Ms. Gant said.

And all of that money comes from donations generated by the Air Force Assistance Fund. "If a lot of people contribute together," Ms. Gant said, "it all adds up."