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“When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.”
Everyone has heard or read this proverbial phrase – often seen on Facebook, motivational posters and tacky tee shirts – routinely used to encourage people suffering through hardships.
If anyone embodies this concept, it’s Mary Pinkett, 436th Force Support Squadron civilian personnel office clerk.
Pinkett works full time on Dover AFB, but also had a second job to care for her family, said Colette McCulley, 436th FSS civilian personnel officer. Over the past year, that family has grown to include an adult nephew with special needs, a 12 year-old granddaughter and her son after receiving a diagnosis of cancer.
If that wasn’t enough to sour Pinkett’s demeanor, she had to give up her part-time job to care for her family, and then her car died, and she didn’t have enough money to replace it.
As an Army veteran and current Air Force civilian, Pinkett approached McCulley to see if she was aware of any loans or financial relief options so she could be able to purchase a new car.
“Miss Mary is the most positive, upbeat and hardworking person I know,” said McCulley, Pinkett’s supervisor. “Our office can be a very stressful place with a very heavy workload. Her positive attitude has always impacted our office in a great way. She exudes compassion and makes this a pleasant place to work, so when I found out about everything that was happening in her life, I was shocked. I had no idea she was struggling.”
Promptly, McCulley, met with Capt. Ann Dally, 436th FSS manpower and personnel flight commander, to discuss the situation and see if there was any way they could help. A coworker offered to loan Pinkett a car, but she declined the generosity not wanting to be a nuisance and opting to use public transportation. All the while, Dally and McCulley continued searching for financial assistance.
“We’re in the military, and we take care of our military families,” Dally said. “That’s just what we do. We kept looking for ways to help her, and we just kept coming up flat, so we decided to raise the money ourselves, and see if we couldn’t get her something that would meet her needs.”
Slowly at first, online donations started trickling in from within the office, then from the squadron. It wasn’t long before news had reached the 436th Operations Support Squadron, where Pinkett worked before her current assignment. There were even several donations from previous coworkers no longer in Delaware or even the country that were so moved by the kind-hearted Pinkett’s personal hardships that they too wanted to help.
It wasn’t too long before Dally’s go fund me and the generosity of so many in the base community had accrued about $3,500. Through a friend, the fund raisers contacted Josh Wharton and the Good Ole Boy Foundation, a local community organization focused on assisting families in times of unforeseen difficulties.
Wharton was able to find a deal with a dealership in Georgetown, and Pinkett got a used car in great shape for a greatly reduced price, McCulley said. There was even enough money left over to cover some of the insurance costs.
“Personally, I think this is Karma for everything she always does for everyone around her,” McCulley said. “She takes care of all of the little things for everyone in this office. She’s always bringing in plants or crocheting personalized gifts. She has so little of her own, but gives so much to everyone around her, so to be able to help her through a time of need was a privilege, and I’m humbled we could help.”
While this story may hit close to home for McCulley, it’s not a unique tale.
“This type of thing is happening all over the military in communities around the world,” McCulley added. “This wasn’t just our little shop. It was the Dover community and Sussex County, and beyond. This is the essence of Dover. We may bicker and bump heads from time to time, but at the end of the day, we’re here to help each other.”
| Date Taken: | 06.30.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 06.30.2017 09:44 |
| Story ID: | 239752 |
| Location: | DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, DE, US |
| Web Views: | 25 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Base, community supports civilian Airman in time of need, by TSgt Aaron Jenne, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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