TOP STORY >>Assistance Fund campaign begins Feb. 12

RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AETCNS) — Every year around this time Air Force members get a great opportunity to take care of their own during the Air Force Assistance Fund campaign. This year’s campaign runs from Feb. 12 to May 4, and benefits active duty, Reserve, Guard, and retired Airmen — and their surviving spouses and families.

“The Air Force Assistance Fund is the one opportunity we have each year to reach out and help our fellow Airmen who find themselves in difficult and trying situations,” said Gen. William R. Looney III, Air Education and Training Command commander. “Through the Air Force Assistance Fund, the concept of an Air Force family that truly cares for one another becomes very clear.”

Last year’s campaign exceeded the AFAF’s goal by collecting nearly $7.3 million. Within AETC, members contributed nearly $1.4 million, with the command’s Airmen receiving more than $2.3 million in assistance. People can voluntarily contribute through cash, check, money order or payroll deduction to any of the following four organizations:

— The Air Force Aid Society, which provides Airmen and their families with worldwide emergency financial assistance, education assistance, and an array of base-level, community-enhancement programs. Base Family Support Centers have full details on programs and eligibility requirements. Information is also available online at http://www.afas.org/.

— The Air Force Enlisted Village, near Eglin AFB, Fla., which was founded in 1967 to provide a safe, secure, and dignified place for indigent widows of retired Air Force enlisted members. More information is available at http://www.afenlistedwidows.org.

— The Air Force Village, in San Antonio, which provides retirement living, with access to continuing health care, for military officers who served honorably and their spouses, with priority to retired Air Force officer widows and widowers in need of financial assistance. The Air Force Village Web site is http://www.airforcevillages.com.

— The General and Mrs. Curtis E. LeMay Foundation, which helps widows of all Air Force retirees, both officers and enlisted, through financial grants of assistance. The LeMay Foundation Web site is http://www.lemayfoundation.org/.
AFAF charitable organizations receive 100 percent of all designated contributions, and contributions are tax-deductible. For more information, visit http://afassistancefund.org.
Installation project officers have information on local campaigns.