Fort Huachuca, Arizona -- Army Community Service kicked off the start of the 2017 Army Emergency Relief Campaign donation season Mar. 2 with a cake cutting and guest speaker Retired Sgt. Maj. Glen Wellman III, emergency assistance administrator, Army Emergency Relief.
Teresa Spencer, Army Emergency Relief officer, welcomed the crowd.
"Thank you all for being here today to celebrate AER's 75th anniversary and the legacy of caring," Spencer said. "We are here today to educate, motive and celebrate with our unit coordinators and the Fort Huachuca community. I believe in Army Emergency Relief. I believe in what it is, who it serves and what it is able to do for those I serve."
Wellman explained the history behind AER.
"Seventy-five years ago the men and women of this country's greatest generation saw a need to band together to support their comrades in arms," he said. "Out of their life experiences and their sense of responsibility, shortly after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, AER was born.
"An organization embedded in the Army to help the Army take care of its own. A legacy of caring that began 75 years ago and continues to this day. Since 1942, AER has provided over $1.7 billion to 3.7 million Soldiers and their Families in financial assistance. The annual campaign is not an AER campaign, but the Army's campaign."
Wellman spoke of the financial impact that AER had for Soldiers.
"Last year we raised $9 million, but AER provided $61 million in assistance to 41,000 Soldiers and their Families in 2016. Included in that assistance was $8 million in grants and another 7.9 million dollars in scholarships to 4,500 Soldiers and Family members.
"So how does it work? How do you collect $9 million but give out $61 million? It is through the repayment of interest-free loans. As the loans are repaid, the funds are passed to the next Soldier in need. The impact of a donation will last for years, not just impact one Soldier, but will impact many as the repayment is passed on to another in need.
"Here at Fort Huachuca last year $455,000 were provided in financial assistance," said Wellman. "That's an impressive output, but what was the outcome? The outcome was that impact was made on 312 individuals and their Families right here in your community. The funds raised last year were $113,000 at Fort Huachuca. That's a pretty good return on investment.
"The program and AER is not about where we've been, but where we are going. It's not about reliving the legacy of the past 75 years, it's about continuing that legacy for the next 75 years. It's about making a difference for Soldiers and their Families."
2nd Lt. Samuel Andersen, AER campaign coordinator, thanked all who attended and stressed the importance of the campaign.
"AER is all about Soldiers helping Soldiers," Andersen said. "It gives a Soldier the opportunity to donate to help their brothers and sisters in need. This campaign goes from March 1 to May 15, and we're asking for all Soldiers to please donate what they can."
Spencer explained that AER is not the same program that many Soldiers might remember.
"One of my favorite changes in AER is the vehicle replacement," she added. "You could not [previously] request AER assistance for a new vehicle.
"[However] there are times when the service member's vehicle was not worth repairing. The value of the vehicle was less than the [cost of repairs]. We're not going to throw good money [after] bad."
AER is able to provide up to $4,000 to find a more suitable, reliable vehicle.
"If they find something that they would really want to buy and the payments are affordable, then we tell them to get the paperwork drawn up, bring that back to us, and we will give them those monies as a down payment for the replacement vehicle," she explained.
Another change to the AER program and the items it helps Soldiers and their Families purchase are cranial helmets which are not covered by Tricare. These have been added to the list of types of assistance for those Families in need.
"You would be surprised how many service members' children are prescribed helmets," Spencer said. "The least amount that I can remember lending out for the helmets is $2,500 for a cranial helmet. One of the good things, that a lot of people don't know, is that the money for the helmet is not a loan, it's a grant, for the most part."
Spencer also noted that the commander's referral program increased from $1,000 to $1,500."It's a good one for our service members [who] are newly married that don't have a bed or a couch," she said.
"There is no stigma to using AER. Life happens to us all. It can be in the middle of your career or the end. We treat people with dignity," Spencer said. "You can't predict an emergency."
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