Redstone came in first place among small installations for participation in the 2024 Army Emergency Relief campaign.
In all, the campaign raised more than $3.1 million through donations from Soldiers, retired Soldiers and other supporters, including those who gave at Army & Air Force Exchange Service registers.
For the fourth year in a row, Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, was the top medium installation and Fort Sill, Oklahoma, was the leading large installation. Fort Sill had 31.4% percent of its active-duty force donate, Fort Leonard Wood had 98.3% and Redstone Arsenal had 52.8% participation.
The Redstone campaign kicked off in March at the second annual Team Redstone Financial Symposium with a goal of $200,000 and ended on June 14, the Army’s birthday.
AER is 100% funded through donations, Olivia Pierce, the Financial Readiness Program manager at Army Community Service, said at the kickoff.
The 2023 Redstone Arsenal AER campaign brought in $185,000 in donations from 435 donors. Twenty-five Soldiers received $56,000 in assistance.
The AER is the Army’s official nonprofit, providing grants, interest-free loans and scholarships to promote readiness and help relieve financial stress of Soldiers and their families. The purpose of the campaign is to inform active-duty and retired Soldiers and their family members, including spouses and children of deceased Soldiers, about the types of financial assistance available from AER and provide Soldiers an opportunity to donate.
Retired Sgt. Maj. of the Army Tony Grinston, the AER CEO, recently announced the three garrisons with the highest participation rates in the annual campaign. He and Sgt. Maj. of the Army Michael Weimer are scheduled to present awards to the garrisons during the Association of the U.S. Army annual meeting and exposition in Washington, D.C. in October.
This is the fourth year the nonprofit has recognized top-performing installations. Last year’s winners were U.S. Army Garrison Wiesbaden, Germany; Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri; and Fort Sill, Oklahoma, in the small, medium and large categories, respectively.