Marine recalls NMCRS assistance, spreads awareness for society

Photo By Cpl. Victor A. Arriaga | Chief Warrant Officer Frank G. McKain Jr. was a single sergeant stationed in Washington, D.C., when a bank error motivated him to seek help from the Navy Marine Corps Relief Society. McKain is a personnel officer with Headquarters and Headquarters Squadron’s Installation Personnel Administration Center and the H&HS fund drive leader during this year’s NMCRS annual active duty fund drive.  

MARINE CORPS AIR STATION CHERRY POINT , NC, UNITED STATES

03.14.2014

Story by Lance Cpl. Victor A. Arriaga 

II Marine Expeditionary Force   

MARINE CORPS AIR STATION CHERRY POINT, N.C. - When a bank makes an error and is expecting payment, what do you do? What happens when you do not have the money and do not know where to go for help?

Frank G. McKain Jr. was a sergeant stationed in Washington, D.C., when a bank error caused him to seek financial help in 2005 from the Navy Marine Corps Relief Society.

The bank made a mistake, he said, that resulted in two payments being due in the same month.

“I didn’t really know what to do but my staff noncommissioned officer at the time recommended that I seek help from the Navy Marine Corps Relief Society,” said McKain, now a chief warrant officer with Headquarters and Headquarters Squadron’s Installation Personnel Administration Center. “I went to their location at the Navy Yard, told them about the situation, and they told me they would help me take care of everything.”

With help from the society, McKain was able to make both payments on time and set up an allotment with them to repay the loan at zero percent interest.

The NMCRS is a non-profit organization established to help service members in need by offering financial assistance and educating service members about financial management and planning.

McKain is only one of thousands of the society’s success stories. More than 65,000 Marines and Sailors in 2013, throughout the Department of Defense, received more than $49 million in financial assistance.

McKain said the society’s volunteers are helpful and make navigating the process as easy as possible for service members.
“I didn’t run into any issues at all with the NMCRS,” said McKain. “One of the reasons I’m donating my time to the society now is because of personal experience.”

McKain, a Miramar, Fla. native, is the H&HS fund drive leader during this year’s NMCRS annual active duty fund drive. The drive runs throughout the month of March across the naval services, educating Marines and Sailors about the society, and through donations raising essential funds for its operations.

There are several options available to those who want to donate. The preferred, most convenient and most error-free way to donate is through an allotment. Marines with an end of active service date greater than three months from when the drive starts can log onto Marine Online at www.mol.usmc.mil and set an allotment to support the NMCRS. Paper form allotments are also available and can be obtained through unit representatives. Additionally, anyone interested in making a donation can log onto www.nmcrsfunddrive.org and set up an allotment or set up a one-time donation via credit card. Finally, cash and check donations are also accepted. Contribution forms should be filled out in every case to keep track of command credit.

“Without the donations, the society wouldn’t have anything to help out our fellow Marines and Sailors,” said McKain.
To support the NMCRS with a donation, contact your unit representative or go to www.nmcrsfunddrive.org.

• Date Taken: 03.14.2014
• Date Posted: 03.14.2014 14:02
• Story ID: 122017
• Location: MARINE CORPS AIR STATION CHERRY POINT , NC, US
• Hometown: MIRAMAR, FL, US