FORT MONROE, Va. - About $87,000 was doled out to post Soldiers here last year through Army Emergency Relief. More than $83 million was distributed to 72,000 financially strapped troops Army-wide.
It's those sorts of statistics that accentuate the value of the AER program and explain why its annual fund drive that started March 1 is "absolutely critical," asserted Col. Anthony D. Reyes, garrison commander, during the 2009 AER Campaign kickoff event earlier this month at the Soldier and Family Support Center.
Speaking to the "keypersons" who will assist their respective offices and organizations with AER donations between now and May 15 when the campaign closes, Col. Reyes cited the theme of this year's AER fund drive - "Adding Strength to Army Strong" - and called it a "perfect fit" for the program that "gets right at the heart of assisting Soldiers in need."
"I cannot emphasize enough what this effort means to the Army ... what it means to that Soldier who has lost a loved one and needs money to get home or that family who is struggling to make ends meet," the garrison commander said. "That's what I mean when I say this gets to the heart of what we do. If our job is to take care of Soldiers, there are few better ways to do it than this."
The colonel recalled his days as a second lieutenant stationed in South Korea. He had spent most of his money (and accrued leave) on a mid-tour trip back to the states to visit family, friends and his sick grandmother who helped raise him. Not long after he returned to his duty assignment, he was informed that his grandmother had passed away.
"He goes to his chain of command and they do the right thing by directing him to AER, and that program makes it possible for him to get back from Korea to East Orange, N.J., and attend the funeral of the lady who probably had the most impact on his life than anybody else. ... That's why I will accept every opportunity to talk up AER; because I know what it can do."
Wrapping up with a thank you to the representatives for tackling the additional duties of campaign keypersons, the colonel handed the ceremony off to Beverly Nicholson, the AER campaign coordinator and program manager for Fort Monroe. She too discussed the power of the program from a local standpoint. Her examples included a deal made with a funeral director to drastically lower the cost of a burial so it would be more affordable for a military family and an incident where a couple needed money for medical expenses and burial after their non-DEERS-enrolled newborn died.
Those examples are the extremes, Nicholson noted. The more common types of AER support include loans for car repairs when a family had no other means of transportation and help with food, rent and utilities for Soldiers who experience pay problems or find themselves over their heads in excess debt.
"In those cases where we have a debt situation, we typically take it one step further by enrolling the applicant in financial counseling," Nicholson told the audience. "The idea is to hopefully not have them right back in our office asking for assistance for the same thing a month or two later. We want to set them up for success and show them that we're there to help in other ways as well."
Nicholson also was emphatic about her program's track record of helping any Soldier in need, as long as they met the financial assistance criteria established by the Army. "Since 1994 when I took over the program, we have not turned down anybody who came to us for assistance and met those guidelines. I know there are some (negative) stories out there, but you can take this from me - here at Fort Monroe we will go the extra mile to make it work."
The kickoff event concluded with administrative information for the campaign reps - how to fill out contribution forms, when and where to turn in money, that sort of thing. Active-duty military members and retirees can contribute through payroll deduction. Government civilians and others associated with the Fort Monroe community can make cash or check contributions. The installation's campaign goal this year is $20,000.
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