Sgt. Hanson was raised by his paternal grandparents. After his grandfather died, he became his grandmother Veleen Hanson’s primary caregiver as she resided in a Dayton-area facility. When she passed away in October 2019, the Hansons needed to escort her body home and fly into Missoula, Montana, for her funeral.
They turned to the staff at the Airman and Family Readiness Center, who tapped into the Air Force Aid Society Fund – one of the four AFAF-affiliated charities that assist active-duty, Reserve, Guard and retired Air Force personnel and their families. Within 45 minutes, the travel arrangements had been made by the helpful AFRC staff and the sergeant’s ticket was covered. He also was given a loan to pay for Sarah Hanson’s ticket.
“Montana is hard to fly into and this was last-minute,” he recalled. “Instead of putting $1,800 on a credit card with a lot of interest, they were able to cover my ticket and offer a no-interest loan for my wife’s to get us there.”
“Life happens and I think the Air Force Assistance Fund is there for people to utilize when circumstances do appear, because they do,” she said.
“With the world spinning, it was nice to get the help,” Sgt. Hanson said.
Having benefitted from the AFAF, the Hansons say they urge others to help.
“The Air Force, even to civilian employees, says to be a good wingman and I think contributing to the Air Force Assistance Fund follows the utmost of that principle – to be a wingman,” Sarah Hanson said. “You never know when that wingman is going to need to show up at Airman and Family Readiness to get something like this taken care of.
“By contributing you may not be directly helping the person that sits next to you, but you are still helping somebody on this base,” she said.
As of March 16, pledges and donations had amounted to more than 10% of Wright-Patt’s goal, said Lt. Col. William Holl, AFAF installation project officer. This year’s campaign goal is $107,346, which is only 11% of Wright-Patt’s calculated potential. The base’s 47th annual AFAF campaign runs until April 10.
“We’re still pushing the campaign and with the current pandemic crisis, people may need assistance from these charities more than ever,” Holl said. “With the increased number of personnel going to a telework option, e-giving is still a great way to contribute to AFAF, but please remember to contact your unit project officer for a control number.”
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.
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