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NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (March 9, 2020) – Dead broke. Four days until payday. Then the Red Cross message came through and he didn’t know what to do. A flight, rental car, place to stay, and his mother is sick. He couldn’t pay for it all. What could he do?
Service members that encounter tough situations like this have many solutions at their disposal, and the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society (NMCRS) is one valuable resource available to them.
From March 1 through April 15, the NMCRS is hosting an Active-Duty Fund Drive in the Hampton Roads region to encourage Sailors and Marines to contribute to the program. These contributions directly help local Hampton Roads active duty and retired Sailors, Marines, and their families in a variety of ways.
“You can come to NMCRS and get a zero-interest loan or possibly even a grant to solve your problem, depending on what it is,” said Scott Sandquist, a shipboard program coordinator at the Norfolk Navy Relief office. “The best part about us is it’s all of your donations that make this possible.”
According to Sandquist, the most used service from NMCRS is their quick-assistance loan. This loan can amount up to $500 interest-free with no questions asked when a service member is in need of money. This can save service members money that they won’t have to pay back due to interest to banks, credit unions, and payday lenders. To receive this loan, the member must go into a NMCRS office. Once there, a NMCRS representative will evaluate the situation and decide on whether to approve the loan. NMCRS will also work a repayment plan, and may also decide to grant the recipient money during this meeting.
“You name it, we can help out,” said Sandquist. “Rent, utilities, food, gas, car payments, car insurance, car repairs, getting your vehicle back from reposition, preventing evictions, helping pay medical bills, and lots of emergency travel for death and illness in the family. Everything is a no-interest loan. If it is needed, we can grant money to their circumstances.”
According to the NMCRS website, http://www.NMCRS.org, the organization has been helping service members and their families since 1904. They started when several Naval officers, wives of Naval officers, and civilian friends saw the need for more formal and organized assistance. It has continued to grow in support of the Navy and Marine Corps family, and last year in the Hampton Roads area alone, the society provided more than $7.7 million in financial assistance with 10,554 assists to families.
“NMCRS takes care of active duty, their dependents, military retirees and their dependents, widows of military members, and reservists that are on active duty more than 30 days,” said Sandquist. ”We take care of every service. We can assist them also, so we are all working together and interconnected.”
NMCRS raises its money by receiving donations and running fundraisers every year to keep its services available. While contributions are encouraged throughout the year, March and April are when commands throughout the world commit time and effort into educating and informing their Sailors and Marines about the benefits of the program.
“Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society Campaign is upon us,” said Lt. j. g. Jeremie Gilbert, the command NMCRS representative. “Each department has a departmental representative to spread awareness within your perspective departments. As a command, we focus on educating our Sailors on every resource available.”
Anyone can donate to NMCRS by going to their website, clicking on the “donate” button on the right side of the page, and following the prompts. Sailors interested in finding more information about the program or how they can donate should contact their departmental and command representatives.
“Last year we raised $68,000 for the Fund Drive, and as a command we borrowed $123,000 from the NMCRS and awarded $1,800 for grants,” said Chief Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Handling) Hamilton Bryant, the assistant command NMCRS representative. “That is why it is important to donate.”
Gilbert echoed the importance of education to and contributions from Sailors and Marines to help fellow Sailors and Marines.
“We look forward to raising awareness and contributing to keeping the NMCRS afloat while continuing to provide services for any Sailor with a need,” said Gilbert.
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-GW-
| Date Taken: | 03.09.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 05.04.2020 11:06 |
| Story ID: | 365651 |
| Location: | NEWPORT NEWS, VA, US |
| Web Views: | 39 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society: By Our Own, For Our Own, by PO3 Cory Daut, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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