AFAF kickoff

Brig. Gen. Patrick Higby, 81st Training Wing commander, addresses the audience during the Air Force Assistance Fund kickoff breakfast March 24, 2014, at the Bay Breeze Event Center, Keesler Air Force Base, Miss. AFAF lends critical support to active duty and retired Airmen and their families. (U.S. Air Force photo by Kemberly Groue)

AFAF kickoff

Linda Edison, 81st Force Support Squadron Airmen and Family Readiness Center, speaks on the benefits that the Air Force Assistance Fund can provide during the AFAF kickoff breakfast March 24, 2014, at the Bay Breeze Event Center, Keesler Air Force Base, Miss. AFAF lends critical support to active duty and retired Airmen and their families. (U.S. Air Force photo by Kemberly Groue)

AFAF kickoff

Brig. Gen. Patrick Higby, 81st Training Wing commander, prepares to complete an Air Force Assistance Fund form as Tech. Sgt. Vincent Brasher, 81st Security Forces Squadron; Senior Master Sgts. Isaac Brown, 81st Training Support Squadron, and Robert DeGennaro, 81st SFS, and Chief Master Sgt. Farrell Thomas, 81st TRW command Chief, stand behind during the AFAF kickoff breakfast March 24, 2014, at the Bay Breeze Event Center, Keesler Air Force Base, Miss. AFAF lends critical support to active duty and retired Airmen and their families. Brasher, Brown and DeGennaro are the project managers for the 81st Training Wing. (U.S. Air Force photo by Kemberly Groue)

Annual fund assists Air Force families

Published March 26, 2014
By Airman 1st Class Stephan Coleman
81st Training Wing Public Affairs

KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. -- Keesler's 2014 Air Force Assistance Fund campaign began March 24 and runs through May 2.

Each year, the AFAF campaign raises money in support of Airmen around the world. Air Force personnel, retirees and civilians can choose to donate through one-time cash donation or through ongoing payroll deductions to one of the four main AFAF programs.

"The theme, 'Commitment to Caring,' reiterates the Air Force's heritage of taking care of one another, whether it's for active duty, retired or surviving family members," said Brig. Gen. Patrick Higby, 81st Training Wing commander.

The charitable organizations that benefit from the campaign include the Air Force Village, Air Force Enlisted Village, the Air Force Aid Society and the General and Mrs. Curtis Lemay Foundation, said Tech. Sgt. Vincent Brasher, 81st Security Forces Squadron, Keesler AFAF program manager.

Each organization helps the Air Force family in very different niches:

The Air Force Village in San Antonio, Texas, provides retirement living for military officers and their spouses, with priority to retired Air Force officer widows and widowers in need of financial assistance.

The Air Force Enlisted Village near Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., provides a safe, secure and dignified home to indigent widows of retired Air Force enlisted members.

The Air Force Aid Society provides Airmen and their families with worldwide emergency financial assistance, education assistance and base-level community-enhancement programs.

The General and Mrs. Curtis E. LeMay Foundation helps widows of all Air Force retirees, both officers and enlisted, through financial grants.

Airmen may choose to donate to any or all of the organizations.

"This year, Keesler's AFAF fundraising goal is to raise as much money as we can," said Brasher. "There will be a competition to guess the total amount raised at the end of the campaign."

To get involved, see your local unit AFAF project manager or visit http://www.afassistancefund.org/