Photo By Sgt. Taryn Hagerman | Fort Bragg retirees offered support through Army Emergency Relief donations during the...... read more read more
Subscribe
FORT BRAGG, N.C. – Army Emergency Relief is a private nonprofit organization dating back to 1942. AER is able to fulfill its mission of helping Soldiers and their dependents during times of financial stress through loan repayments, AER Headquarters’ investments, and donations from Soldiers, both past and present.
This generosity supports the brotherhood mentality which resides in every Soldier’s heart after serving alongside other brave men and women. Because of this mindset, the idea of ‘Soldiers helping Soldiers’ does not stop when they retire from service. Many retirees near Fort Bragg contribute annually to AER’s campaign.
“We have a large retiree population in this area and they come through for us yearly,” said Darla L. Cureton, Army Emergency Relief Officer, Army Community Service. “They remember being in the military, and now they want to give back a little something.”
Of the $500,000 raised during the 2014 AER Campaign, about $78,000 came from retirees in the community who maintain a connection to the Army and its Soldiers.
Martin Pierce, retiree and Social Services Assistant in the Employment Readiness Program, Army Community Service, said he has been donating to AER since 1982.
“It’s the right thing to do,” said Pierce. “As a Soldier going up through the ranks, you learn that you take care of your own. That will always be deep within everyone who retires from the military.”
AER Headquarters mails letters to retirees, which serve a dual purpose, said Lynn A. Olavarria, Financial Readiness Program Manager, Army Emergency Relief, Army Community Service.
The letters are designed to make retirees aware of the benefits available to them. However, the letters are also a method for retirees to donate to AER by either sending in a check, or starting or renewing an allotment.
Cureton said the benefits of AER spread much further than the people who directly receive the support.
“We know the benefits to the Soldiers,” said Cureton, “and we’re receiving the benefits as an entire Army because we’re stronger, we’re more resilient, and we’re able to go and do our jobs because we don’t have to worry about these emergency financial situations. So, we are all benefitting, whether it’s directly or as a whole.”
Olavarria said she donates to AER because she has witnessed firsthand how the program helps Soldiers and their families.
“We get to see everyday how AER positively affects Soldiers,” said Olavarria. “I am a retiree and when you finish your career, you’re proud of that. So I think that pride and patriotism motivates a lot of them, and they still want to take care of the next generation of Soldiers.”
AER helps eligible Soldiers, Family members and retirees with loans or grants during times of financial distress. The goal of the program is to reach every eligible person before a commercial lender does, because the last thing that service members need while struggling to pay bills is interest piling on loans.
Pierce said during his time in active duty he witnessed Soldiers taking out personal loans through sources other than AER and said it created more stress and problems than the Soldiers originally had.
“I used to tell my troops all the time, ‘it’s [AER] there if you need it,’” said Pierce.
Soldiers taking care of Soldiers goes beyond a motto or mindset after spending years of one’s life dedicating service to this country alongside strangers who inevitably become so much more.
“We’re all a family,” Pierce said frankly. “And just because you retire and you’re taken out of the uniform doesn’t mean you’re not still a part of it.”
| Date Taken: | 07.02.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 07.21.2014 14:17 |
| Story ID: | 136788 |
| Location: | FORT BRAGG, NC, US |
| Web Views: | 78 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Taking care of their own: Fort Bragg retirees offer support through AER donations, by SGT Taryn Hagerman, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
LEAVE A COMMENT