$5 can make a difference Published April 3, 2007 By Senior Airman Travis Edwards Nellis AFB Public Affairs NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. -- An additional $35,000 could be raised to help Airmen if members from Nellis and Creech would donate $5 during the month-long Air Force Assistance Fund Campaign that ends May 4. One-hundred percent of all AFAF contributions come back to support the Air Force family in the form of Air Force Aid Society grants, loans and the Air Force Enlisted Village to name a few. This year's goal is to ensure everyone has the opportunity to donate. "$5 can make a difference," said Maj. Greg Lowe, the AFAF project officer. "If the Airmen who wouldn't otherwise donate to the AFAF would consider reaching into their wallet and give $5, that would add more than $35,000 in increased donations from last year." Last year, Nellis and Creech racked up more than $130,000 in donations, with only 17 percent of the local population contributing. "With this new campaign, we hope to raise the participation rate to more than 50 percent," said Major Lowe. Almost $500,000 was used in 2006 to help Nellis and Creech Airmen with more than $375,000 going directly to interest-free loans. The AFAF gave away more than $78,000 in grants to such local programs as, Give Parents a Break, Phone-Home and Bundles for Babies to name a few. All Airmen stationed at Nellis and Creech will be contacted soon by their unit project officers and key workers. While civil servants and contractors are not directly solicited, their contributions to this worth-while cause are welcomed, said the major.
