Navy Region Southeast Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society Fund Drive Exceeds Goal

By Kaylee LaRocque, Naval Air Station Jacksonville Public Affairs

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (NNS) -- Naval Air Station Jacksonville held a celebration to officially end the 2010 Navy Region Southeast Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society fund drive June 9.

This year's fund drive generated more than $311,000 to benefit Sailors, Marines and their families who receive assistance through loans and grants in times of need. The total amount of funds exceeded this year's goal of $255,000 by more than $56,000.

"This year's drive was very successful. I'd like to thank everyone who was involved and contributed in this event. We had a lot of people who worked really hard on this annual fund drive," said Lt. Jodi Jennings of Patrol Squadron (VP) 30, who was the assistant region coordinator for the fund drive. "Probably the biggest event was the VP-30 golf tourney which generated a lot of funds and was really fun. We had lots of people come out and raised about $23,000."

VP-30 Commanding Officer Capt. Perry Yaw, region coordinator for the fund drive, also praised his team for heading up such a successful fund drive.

"It was an absolute privilege to support such a great organization. It was the hard work of all the command coordinators to make this such an extremely successful fund drive. So, I thank each and every one of you," said Yaw. "This organization, (NMCRS) helped one out of six Sailors across the United States last year. Think about what a profound impact that is. I think financial readiness and family readiness equals combat readiness. I think by the contributions made across the region that people understand that. Thank you everyone for being so generous. I'd also like to thank all our corporate sponsors - we couldn't have done it without them."

Commander, Navy Region Southeast Rear Adm. Tim Alexander also attended the celebration to thank the volunteers for their support.

"Your work and the work of your people is absolutely key to the success that we achieved this year. Please take the opportunity to go back to your commands and thank all the keypersons and contributors and let them know how important their contributions are," said Alexander. "Fortunately, we have a great organization like Navy and Marine Corps Relief Society to help our Sailors and their families. And that's what this is all about."

Alexander went on to acknowledge the top contributing commands. "Out of the 65 commands participating in the fund drive, 43 exceeded their goals. That is a tremendous success," he said.

The top three commands were: VP-30 with a goal of $26,664 which raised $55,510; Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba with a goal of $27,000 which raised $41,494 and Naval Hospital Jax tying with NAS Key West to raise $19,500.

After the official check presentation, NAS Jax NMCRS Director Dave Faraldo thanked everyone for supporting the society. "It's been a wonderful drive. This is the 16th year that I've been involved in the fund drive. I'd like to thank all of you for your hard work. We'll use this money to take care of the troops so send them over. NMCRS worldwide did 91,000 cases last year providing $47 million in assistance. Much of this was our new quick assist loan where we can give Sailors and their families $300 to take care of that emergency and eliminate the need for a payday loan," he said. Bottom line is if you need money or your troops need money - send them over and we'll do our best to take care of them."

To help out with the celebration, two Jacksonville Roar cheerleaders and Jacksonville Jaguars mascot Jaxson de Ville signed autographs and assisted with a special drawing to pick the winners of the NMCRS Fund Drive grand prize giveaways that were donated by the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The campaign runs each year from March through May to allow military personnel and civilian employees to contribute to the society. Last year, the society provided $1.6 million in loans and grants to Sailors, Marines and their families within the region. During the 106 years the NMCRS has been operating, they have helped millions of people through loans and grants. NMCRS also offers other forms of assistance such as providing layettes or ''junior seabags'' to new family members, a visiting nurse program to help new mothers, elderly individuals and anyone who needs a little extra help, and thrift shops offering low-cost clothing and household items.