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Nonprofit group helps struggling troops pay bills
Saturday, August 23, 2008 3:02 AM
By Rick Rouan
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Some military personnel return home to a hero's welcome.
But even heroes can struggle with the same economic problems that everyone confronts.
A Kentucky-based nonprofit organization has spent the past five years helping those troops with financial assistance -- $115,000 in Ohio alone -- and is trying to do even more through its first nationwide fundraiser.
USA Cares Inc. launched its "Share a Minute" campaign July 4 and has raised about $60,000 so far. The campaign aims to raise more than $13 million -- $25 for each of the 525,000 minutes it says the average service member spends in a tour of duty.
The organization prefers to help troops who have returned from overseas or domestic deployment in the past two years, but it will consider applications from all military personnel and veterans. It helps pay utilities, negotiates with mortgage companies and finds help for problems such as post-traumatic stress disorder.
It provided more than $200 to a Franklin County soldier who couldn't pay the balances on her gas and electric bills, said Jess Bratcher, a spokeswoman for USA Cares.
The organization says it has helped save the home of 10 Ohio military families facing foreclosure; about 220 total Ohio families have received grants.
The Share a Minute campaign is necessary to aid a growing number of troops who need help, Bratcher said.
"The number of cases is rising just a huge amount," she said. "It was just a month ago that we hit our highest of 121 a week and now we're all the way up to 140 a week."
Bratcher said the organization helps about 75 percent of applicants, most of whom have returned from deployment in the past two years.
In most cases, military personnel must file for aid through the organization's Web site, www.usacares.org. The group has specialists who can help people file an application over the phone, she said. The application requires basic biographical and financial information along with a description of the problem and pertinent paperwork, such as a copy of the utility bill that needs to be paid.
People can get help in as quick as 48 hours, Bratcher said, although paying a utility can happen faster than negotiating with a mortgage company.
The organization doesn't help with things such as credit-card payments, cosmetic repairs to cars and homes, and travel expenses, according to its Web site.
Bratcher said the group still tries to find assistance for those it doesn't help directly.
"Sometimes it can be advice, counseling or a contact somewhere else," she said.
rrouan@dispatch.com
Showing posts with label ohio. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ohio. Show all posts
Monday, August 25, 2008
Thursday, August 21, 2008
USA Cares grants $115,000 to Ohio military families
More than 200 families in financial need helped, 10 homes saved
RADCLIFF, KY – USA Cares Inc., a national nonprofit organization dedicated to helping military families, has donated more than $150,000 over five years to service members living in Ohio. The grants were used for getting treatment for wounded soldiers, saving homes from foreclosure, and assisting with basic needs during times of serious financial crisis.
Since 2003, these donations saved 10 Ohio military families from losing their home to foreclosure, and overall 222 families have received grants. In 2007, 76 requests came in from Ohio. USA Cares has received 58 requests for help in the first seven months of 2008.
“Today’s military families are facing a perfect storm: multiple deployments, rising gas and food prices, the sub-prime mortgage mess, and a struggling economy. Coupled with visible and invisible wounds of war, many families can’t win this battle without our assistance,” Roger Stradley, founder of USA Cares, said. Members of any branch of the military serving post 9/11 and their families can apply for help.
USA Cares has worked with military families since it was founded in 2003. Since then, the organization has responded to over 11,000 requests for help with more than $5 million in direct assistance grants. On the housing front, USA Cares is a recognized leader in mortgage loss prevention assistance for the military. In the future, USA Cares hopes to work with other partners to field a program for post traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury victims who lack the financial resources to attend the treatment they need and deserve, ensuring that the service member doesn’t have to choose between groceries or treatment.
Nationally, USA Cares receives more than 100 new requests for assistance a week. Dedicated staff and volunteers work through each one with the determination and commitment to assist these families as quickly as possible. “USA Cares is out there actually providing financial assistance to solve these problems – we’re not just talking about them,” USA Cares Executive Director Bill Nelson said.
For example, in Columbus, USA Cares paid $500 in rent to keep a family with four children in the home. In Hillsbough, the organization negotiated with a mortgage company and paid $3,350 to save the family home. And in another case, USA Cares helped with a $335 utility payment because the service member training with the National Guard was released to civilian status ahead of schedule, but then was called back, interrupting a steady income.
There are several military installations in Ohio, including Wright Patterson Air Force Base, one of the largest and most important bases in the Air Force that serves a population of approximately 40,000 service members, civilians, and retirees. It is the home of the Air Force Research Laboratory and the USAF Medical Center.
USA Cares embarked on a national fundraising campaign on July 4. Share A Minute will raise funds by asking Americans to donate $25 to represent one minute of a Soldier, Sailor, Airman or Marine’s full 525,000-minute annual tour of duty. Those minutes quickly add up to create hardships for soldiers and their families during deployment or when they return, and it costs USA Cares $25 a minute to help these families.
This level of support will ensure that USA Cares can meet all the needs of military personnel and their families not only through the present twin crises of PTSD/TBI and housing, but also the economic challenges yet to come.
Stradley said there is no doubt that Americans will help by donating. “Our nation, including the residents of Ohio, has a level of compassion that is unmatched in the world. This nation’s defenders need help, and it’s now our duty to come to their aid.”
To share a minute, go to http://www.usacares.org/ and click on the Share A Minute logo or call 1-800-773-0387 for more information.
About USA Cares and Share A Minute
USA Cares is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that helps military families bear the burdens of service with financial and advocacy support. Its mission: to assist wounded warriors and their families, to prevent home foreclosures and evictions and to help with basic needs during financial crisis. Share A Minute asks Americans to donate $25 to represent one minute of a Soldier, Sailor, Airman or Marine’s full 525,000 minute tour of duty. In 2007 USA Cares helped 98 wounded service members; saved 192 homes from foreclosure or families from eviction in partnership with The Homeowners Preservation Foundation; and provided 4,146 requests with other forms of assistance. Families anywhere in America can apply for assistance through the USA Cares web site, http://www.usacares.org/, or by calling 1-800-773-0387. For more information on USA Cares contact jrevell@usacares.org.
RADCLIFF, KY – USA Cares Inc., a national nonprofit organization dedicated to helping military families, has donated more than $150,000 over five years to service members living in Ohio. The grants were used for getting treatment for wounded soldiers, saving homes from foreclosure, and assisting with basic needs during times of serious financial crisis.
Since 2003, these donations saved 10 Ohio military families from losing their home to foreclosure, and overall 222 families have received grants. In 2007, 76 requests came in from Ohio. USA Cares has received 58 requests for help in the first seven months of 2008.
“Today’s military families are facing a perfect storm: multiple deployments, rising gas and food prices, the sub-prime mortgage mess, and a struggling economy. Coupled with visible and invisible wounds of war, many families can’t win this battle without our assistance,” Roger Stradley, founder of USA Cares, said. Members of any branch of the military serving post 9/11 and their families can apply for help.
USA Cares has worked with military families since it was founded in 2003. Since then, the organization has responded to over 11,000 requests for help with more than $5 million in direct assistance grants. On the housing front, USA Cares is a recognized leader in mortgage loss prevention assistance for the military. In the future, USA Cares hopes to work with other partners to field a program for post traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury victims who lack the financial resources to attend the treatment they need and deserve, ensuring that the service member doesn’t have to choose between groceries or treatment.
Nationally, USA Cares receives more than 100 new requests for assistance a week. Dedicated staff and volunteers work through each one with the determination and commitment to assist these families as quickly as possible. “USA Cares is out there actually providing financial assistance to solve these problems – we’re not just talking about them,” USA Cares Executive Director Bill Nelson said.
For example, in Columbus, USA Cares paid $500 in rent to keep a family with four children in the home. In Hillsbough, the organization negotiated with a mortgage company and paid $3,350 to save the family home. And in another case, USA Cares helped with a $335 utility payment because the service member training with the National Guard was released to civilian status ahead of schedule, but then was called back, interrupting a steady income.
There are several military installations in Ohio, including Wright Patterson Air Force Base, one of the largest and most important bases in the Air Force that serves a population of approximately 40,000 service members, civilians, and retirees. It is the home of the Air Force Research Laboratory and the USAF Medical Center.
USA Cares embarked on a national fundraising campaign on July 4. Share A Minute will raise funds by asking Americans to donate $25 to represent one minute of a Soldier, Sailor, Airman or Marine’s full 525,000-minute annual tour of duty. Those minutes quickly add up to create hardships for soldiers and their families during deployment or when they return, and it costs USA Cares $25 a minute to help these families.
This level of support will ensure that USA Cares can meet all the needs of military personnel and their families not only through the present twin crises of PTSD/TBI and housing, but also the economic challenges yet to come.
Stradley said there is no doubt that Americans will help by donating. “Our nation, including the residents of Ohio, has a level of compassion that is unmatched in the world. This nation’s defenders need help, and it’s now our duty to come to their aid.”
To share a minute, go to http://www.usacares.org/ and click on the Share A Minute logo or call 1-800-773-0387 for more information.
About USA Cares and Share A Minute
USA Cares is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that helps military families bear the burdens of service with financial and advocacy support. Its mission: to assist wounded warriors and their families, to prevent home foreclosures and evictions and to help with basic needs during financial crisis. Share A Minute asks Americans to donate $25 to represent one minute of a Soldier, Sailor, Airman or Marine’s full 525,000 minute tour of duty. In 2007 USA Cares helped 98 wounded service members; saved 192 homes from foreclosure or families from eviction in partnership with The Homeowners Preservation Foundation; and provided 4,146 requests with other forms of assistance. Families anywhere in America can apply for assistance through the USA Cares web site, http://www.usacares.org/, or by calling 1-800-773-0387. For more information on USA Cares contact jrevell@usacares.org.
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