Commentary: AFAF helping out in many ways

  • Published
  • By Rebekah Thomashunis
ROYAL AIR FORCE LAKENHEATH, England --  My experience with the Air Force Assistance Fund has been wonderful! Most people don't realize how much this program effects people in so many ways.

When we first moved to England, like many people, we were house hunting with a toddler, which is not fun for anyone!

Learning about the 20 hours of free childcare through one of the many Family Child Care providers on base was a life saver. Our daughter was able to play and have fun with other children while we took care of the moving. It was so much easier, and the FCC provider was so kind and accommodating.

A little further down the road, it was deployment time. Nobody's favorite time for sure, especially since it was our fifth time going through it. Being overseas and away from family was going to be so hard. Thankfully my husband's shop, the 48th Civil Engineer Squadron's Explosive Ordnance Disposal flight, was so helpful, and I could always count on them.

During my husband's outprocessing, he learned about the car care program for me. This certificate allowed me to take my car into the Auto Hobby Shop for a free oil change while he was deployed! It was such a relief to know all I had to do was drop my car off and it would be taken care of, thanks to the AFAF.

I was also able to take advantage of the Give Parents a Break events at the Child Development Center. My daughter attends the CDC on a regular basis during the week, and this gave me a chance to volunteer my time towards my Key Spouse duties and Enlisted and Civilian Spouses' Club events. Having that free four-to-five hours on the weekend days for the Give Parents a Break program, was just another helping hand for us deployed spouses.

At our previous base, Patrick Air Force Base Fla., we were expecting our daughter and attended the Bundles for Babies program. This was a fantastic program, with a lot of information and free goodies too! It made such an impression on me that even after we moved here to England, I've recommended the program to two expecting spouses. Both of these ladies enjoyed this program, learned so much about having a baby overseas and appreciated all the free stuff.

We have personally known someone who has been blessed by the Air Force Aid Society when a parent was deathly ill. The fund provided airfare for them to travel home to spend the last remaining days with them. There is truly no end to the generosity of this program. As a charitable foundation, anyone can contribute to AFAF, and it's available to everyone as well. We automatically contribute to the fund on a regular basis by setting up an allotment through MyPay.

I often rely on the Airman and Family Readiness Center for information about my current base and as a spouse, I get out there and find out the information I need.

For information on the AFAF, go to http://www.afassistancefund.org.