Air Force Assistance Fund contributions benefit AF families in need Published March 3, 2009 By Meredith March 66th Air Base Wing Public Affairs HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. -- Air Force personnel have an annual opportunity to give to the Air Force Assistance Fund, which helps provide for the well-being of fellow Airmen and their families. The 2009 AFAF campaign, themed "Commitment to Caring," began March 2 and ends April 10. Hanscom's effort is being led by Capt. Patrick Graham, 642nd Electronic Systems Squadron and the base's monetary goal for this year's campaign is $37,170. The AFAF benefits four charities: the Air Force Aid Society, the Air Force Village Foundation, the General and Mrs. Curtis E. LeMay Foundation and the Air Force Enlisted Village. Air Force Aid Society The Air Force Aid Society was founded in 1942 by Army Air Force personnel wanting to "take care of their own," and has been helping Airmen through difficult times ever since. The organization helped provide 35,000 members Air Force-wide receive a total of $19.1 million in 2007, according to the Air Force Aid Society's Web site at www.afas.org. Locally, the AFAS helps to fund many programs run through the Airman and Family Readiness Center. These programs include: respite care, Give Parents a Break, child care for volunteers, child care for PCS, Car Care Because We Care, Phone Home and Bundles for Babies. The AFAS also grants interest-free loans to those who experience unexpected emergencies, and offers grants and scholarships to active-duty personnel and their dependants. Air Force Village Foundation In 1964, the Air Force Officers' Wives' Club and Air Force leaders formed the Air Force Village Foundation to help retired Air Force officers' widows in need with their housing and financial necessities. The AFVF, which opened in 1970 in San Antonio, has become the helping hand to many widows who are left without any means of financial support or stability. Today, according to the foundation's Web site, www.airforcevillages.com, the Air Force villages include retirement communities with independent apartments, wellness clinics, home health care services, assisted living facilities and health care centers. Another AFVF facility is the Freedom House, a facility specifically designed to care for people suffering from Alzheimer's disease or other forms of dementia. The Air Force Village Foundation prides itself on the belief that "no otherwise qualified widow is ever turned away due to an inability to pay," according to the Web site. General and Mrs. Curtis E. LeMay Foundation General Curtis E. LeMay and his wife, Helen, began their foundation, which provides for the needs of military widows across the nation, in 1987. The General and Mrs. Curtis E. LeMay foundation provides financial aid to widowed spouses of Air Force personnel of all ranks, who are in need of assistance, states the organization's Web site www.lemay-foundation.org. The foundation uses grants to provide assistance for rent, utilities, food and some health care, states the AFAF brochure. The foundation understands that these women "spend much of their lives coping with the difficulties of military life and supporting their spouses through years of active duty," states the Web site. "Military spouses are entitled to a decent standard of living, entitled to live with dignity, and entitled to be proud of their service." Air Force Enlisted Village The Air Force Enlisted Village was founded in 1967, by a group of active-duty and retired Air Force noncommissioned officers, with the assistance of former Air Force Chief of Staff General and Mrs. John D. Ryan. The foundation's mission is providing financial assistance and housing to surviving spouses of Air Force enlisted members who are left without the opportunity for careers, home equities, retirement plans or any significant assets, states the foundation's Web site, www.afenlistedwidows.org. "Temporary housing is also available to spouses of enlisted members who die or who are killed on active duty. Adult dependents -- typically parents of active-duty members or their spouses -- are eligible for permanent housing on a space-available basis," the Web site states. The Air Force Enlisted Village consists of two separate living facilities, Theresa Village and Bob Hope Village, located in Fort Walton Beach, Fla., and Shalimar, Fla., respectively. The villages include apartments, community centers, chapels, outdoor gardens and other amenities. The Bob Hope Village includes the Hawthorn House, a 64-apartment assisted living facility. Those who wish to contribute to the AFAF should contact their unit POC, listed below, or visit the AFAF Web site, www.afassistancefund.org, and complete the contribution form. Unit POC contact information ESC/CS: Capt. Theresa Maagoul (781) 377-0191 ESC/XR: Capt. Rodney Hargrove (781) 377-6049 ESC/EN: Lt. Col. Jonathan Fitton (781) 377-9986 ESC/DP: Missy Arts (781) 377-4206 350 ELSG: 2nd Lt. Evan Dadosky (781) 266-9518 551 ELSG: Capt. Butch Wood (781) 266-0784 751 ELSG: Capt. Howard Tang (781) 377-7354 850 ELSG: Capt. Charles Harding (781) 266-9277 851 ELSG: 1st Lt, Dan Knoss (781) 377-5406 950 ELSG: Capt. Steven Green (781) 266-9558 951 ELSG: Capt. Paula Arquette (781) 266-0000 551 ELSW/651 ELSS: Capt. Vivek Balaji (781) 266-9075 554 ELSW: Senior Airman Taniqua Hunter (781) 377-5528 642 ELSS: 2nd Lt. Cameron Linder (781) 377-1538 754 ELSS: Capt. Emilio Talipan (781) 377-6945 66 ABW: Capt. Chris Ruscio (781) 377-3099 66 MSG: 2nd Lt. Ruben Arredondo (781) 377-2216 66 MSG/CONS: 2nd Lt. Rachel Oakes (781) 377-2560 66 MDG: Tech. Sgt. Michael Shimkus (781) 377-5393 Tech. Sgt. Laurie Raven (781) 377-4001 AFRL: 2nd Lt. Don Petrash (781) 377-3243 For more information call Capt. Patrick Graham at (781) 377-7731 or e-mail Patrick.Graham@hanscom.af.mil.