Army Emergency Relief’s 2021 Quarter 2 Update

AER Quarter 2 Update

From Memorial Day to the Army’s birthday and, most recently, the U.S. Army’s 2021 AER Campaign, this second quarter has been quite eventful.

Army Emergency Relief is proud of the support and resources provided to Families over the last three months and will continue to serve Soldiers and their Families throughout times of hardship. We’ve made great strides in further developing assistance as we come out of an especially difficult year and begin rebuilding.

Three thousand five hundred Soldiers received support in the past three months, totaling over $7 million. Personal vehicles, housing and utilities were the most common requests in Quarter 2. We were able to provide assistance thanks to our donors, who contributed more than $5 million since March, including $4.8 million from active-duty and retired Soldiers, DA Civilians and their Families during the 2021 Annual Campaign.

Here is a quick look at some of what AER did throughout this past quarter:

Military Spouses: Our Military Spouses have continuously advocated for their Soldiers and Families. AER, with our Military Spouse Ambassador Krista Anderson, has connected with Military Spouses through our ever-growing AER Spouse Facebook Group and our brand-new Spouse Empowerment Series. Additionally, we continue offering the Mrs. Patty Shinseki Spouse Scholarship Program, a need-based scholarship program established to assist Army Spouses in obtaining an undergraduate degree or similar professional certification.

Military Caregivers: Army Emergency Relief collaborated and shared resources and community support throughout the Month of the Military Caregiver in May. We hosted a Facebook Live with Camp Corral’s Kerry Irvin and highlighted the “Hidden Heroes” and brand-new “Hidden Helpers” campaigns from the Elizabeth Dole Foundation to connect our Soldiers and Families with available assistance. Army Emergency Relief also announced their Childcare Assistance Program would be 100 percent grants, assisting Families who need to hire a licensed caregiver for their Children as we recover from the pandemic.

Education Support: Army Emergency Relief acknowledges the difficulties of pursuing education as a Military Family. We offered scholarships for Army Spouses and Children as well as 100 percent grant-based Remote Learning Assistance for Families impacted by COVID-19.

Pet Transportation: Due to the pandemic, pet transportation during permanent change of station has been more challenging. Soldiers and Families have had fewer options for transporting pets to and from overseas locations and, due to reduced capacity for pet transportation on commercial and military flights, shipping costs have gone up substantially. As a result, AER now offers Pet Transportation Assistance and just in time for PCS season.

Natural Disaster: AER allocated $1 million in grants toward Natural Disaster Assistance, and just in time for hurricane season. The key objective was to help alleviate the financial burdens for Soldiers, retired Soldiers and their Families who have been affected by a natural disaster or related emergency.

U.S. Army’s AER 2021 Annual Campaign Wrap-Up:

Watch our Facebook Live with our Chief of Development, Andrew Pike about our 2021 Annual Campaign Wrap-Up

The most important goal of the U.S. Army’s Annual Campaign is to achieve 100 percent Soldier awareness about the benefits and assistance offered by AER. The 2021 Campaign was incredibly successful, not only because it raised $4.8 million, but because it led to a substantial increase in Soldiers’ awareness of AER.

These two installations showcase this increase in their successes:

Fort Rucker‘s exceptional fundraising efforts raised over $100,000 during the 2021 AER campaign. They were named one of the top installations of this season with a campaign team of only three people bringing the “Soldiers Helping Soldiers” mantra to life.

Fort Leonard Wood went above and beyond in surpassing their goal with a whopping $151,000. Most importantly, the installation had more than 50 percent participation thus landing Fort Leonard Wood as the top installation for AER donations in the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command.

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