Col. Thomas Sherman, 88th Air Base Wing and installation commander, and Chief Master Sgt. Stephen Arbona, 88 ABW command chief, remarked on the importance of the campaign to the wider base and Air Force communities.
“One of the big things we talk about is how we take care of each other,” Sherman said. “One of the neat things this year is the theme is ‘Taking Care of Our Own.’”
“As an Air Force, we go through a lot together – with sweat, blood and smiles – and when it is time to take care of each other, we do that,” Arbona said. “We have the motto, “Never leave an Airman behind.’ That comes in many forms.
“We take care of our own, and there are very few organizations who do it the way we do it. Let’s use the Air Force Assistance Fund to keep each other strong,” he continued. “I know there are a lot of recipients and who knows? Someday we might just find ourselves in need. You never can tell.”
Sherman noted that many Airmen at Wright-Patterson AFB benefited from AFAF contributions last year, with a total of more than $161,000 going to 267 recipients.
“Get to your unit project officers because this is an opportunity to pay it forward,” he said. “We don’t know when we may be in need and we’ll be glad that someone else paid it forward.”
As of March 9, pledges and donations had amounted to more than 5% of Wright-Patt’s goal and in excess of $6,000, said Lt. Col. William Holl, AFAF installation project officer.
That is a great start for the first week of the campaign, he said.
“Now that organizations’ unit project officers have been trained, they are in the process of reaching out to all of their personnel to solicit contributions,” he said. “I would expect that during the next two weeks contributions will accelerate quite a bit. Our focus right now is maintaining 100 percent contact with all potential contributors, then following up to assist those who wish to contribute.”
Contribution forms are collected every Friday.
Holl said he wants to continue to encourage people to contribute.
“There are always times when things happen unexpectedly and create a financial crisis, challenge or need for somebody. The Air Force Assistance Fund is another opportunity to take care of our own by contributing to the Air Force Aid Society or one of the other charities that falls under this campaign.”
Airmen have the option to donate to one or more of the four AFAF charities: Air Force Villages Charitable Foundation, Air Force Aid Society, Air Force Enlisted Village and the LeMay Foundation.
Although there is a large civilian population at Wright-Patterson AFB, civilians cannot be solicited for donations but are invited to contribute. Civilians who wish to contribute to AFAF should contact their unit project officer.
E-giving is new this year
The AFAF campaign is offering e-giving this year via texting AFAF to 50155 or scanning a QR code from one of the many posters that are being posted on base. Members can opt for payroll deduction or a one-time gift online.
One note: e-giving payroll deduction starts immediately and may overlap the previous campaign, which ran from June 1, 2019, to May 1, 2020, resulting in two deductions per pay period until May 1 this year.
In lieu of e-giving, donations to the AFAF can be made by cash, check or payroll deduction by completion of a pdf form provided by unit project officers that is then printed in triplicate and turned into the unit project officer.
Contributions to the AFAF may be tax deductible.
For more information, first contact a unit project officer. The installation project officers are Holl at 937-257-3424, william.holl@us.af.mil; Senior Master Sgt. Michael Stegen, 937-528-2929, michael.stegen@us.af.mil; and Master Sgt. Ashely Fuquay, 937-255-3491.
Additional information on AFAF is available online at www.afassistancefund.org.
About the Author