Photo By Emily Hileman | Second battalion, 13th Infantry Regiment, the winners of the bowling competition, pose...... read more read more
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Fort Jackson kicked off the 2023 Army Emergency Relief campaign with a bowling competition at Century Lanes, March 3.
The annual event is held to highlight the Army Emergency Relief campaign and to raise funds to help active duty and retired Soldiers with financial assistance.
According to Army Regulation 930-4, Army Emergency Relief, the Army’s only nonprofit organization, provides emergency financial assistance in the form of non-interest-bearing loans, grants, or a combination of the two. Since its inception in 1942, more than $2 billion has been provided for more than 4 million Soldiers and nearly $1 billion has been distributed since 9/11.
Other installations have Fort Jackson’s number, said retired Col. Eldon Mullis, deputy director and chief operating officer of AER.
“Fort Jackson has raised more funds than any other large Army installation for the past two AER campaigns,” he said.
Last year Fort Jackson raised $140,676 during the annual campaign and $201,803 in 2021.
For the 2022 fiscal year, Fort Jackson’s AER office distributed more than $900,000 to Soldiers and their Families. AER receives funding through donations from Soldiers, both active and retired, and outside corporations.
Those eligible for emergency financial assistance are active-duty Soldiers and their eligible dependents, Reserve Soldiers on Title 10 orders for more than 30 days and their eligible dependents, retirees and their eligible dependents, surviving spouses who have not remarried and the children of Soldiers who died on active duty.
“We cover almost anything that helps maintain life for Soldiers and their Family,” said Army Emergency Relief Specialist, Rob Meredith. “We help with (privately-owned vehicles) repairs and insurance, and other household type stuff like food, utilities, rent, mortgage, medical expenses that insurance may not fully cover.”. However, AER does not cover vehicle registration fees, taxes due or legal fees due to things such as marriage or divorce.
“If someone within your immediate family passes away and you have to travel for the funeral. Because of the circumstances, we can even grant you half of the expenses,” Meredith added. “For example, if the total cost of the flights are $1,000, we can grant them $500 and they only have to pay back the other $500.” For these situations, a Red Cross notification may need to be received, and the Soldier may be required to have a DA-31 emergency leave form signed by their commander, but exceptions can be made.
There is also no dollar limit to the amount of assistance AER can provide, but supporting documents are usually required.
Fort Jackson’s Army Community Service team doesn’t just help with the immediate financial need, but they also work with Soldiers and their families to prevent further financial hardship by helping them develop a budget and a plan for moving forward. “Our key thing is to educate. I can give you a fish and you’ll eat for a day, but if I teach you to fish, by educating you, you’ll eat for a lifetime.” ACS services are free and confidential to anyone who qualifies. Contact the AER team at 751-5256 or visit https://www.armyemergencyrelief.org for more information.
| Date Taken: | 03.09.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 03.08.2023 12:26 |
| Story ID: | 439943 |
| Location: | FORT JACKSON, SOUTH CAROLINA, US |
| Web Views: | 46 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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