By Margarita Cambest
USAG Stuttgart Public Affairs
Army Emergency Relief is on a roll to kicking off its 2025 campaign.
Army Community Service staff and the garrison command team celebrated the launch of the campaign on March 6 with bowling, trivia, and snacks at The Galaxy Bowling and Entertainment Center.
The private, nonprofit organization provides monetary relief to active-duty soldiers, soldiers retired for longevity, medical or upon reaching age 60 (Reserve component), Army Reserve and National Guard soldiers activated on Title 10 orders for more than 30 days, as well as their eligible dependents. Surviving spouses who have not remarried and children of soldiers who died on active duty or died after reaching retirement are also eligible.
Assistance is offered in more than 30 categories with the most frequent requests locally being the hefty first month’s rent/deposits required to live in off-post housing, said AER Officer Amy Melendez. Emergency travel and transition assistance are also common requests.
While the need for interest-free loans and grants is not limited to soldiers, each service branch has their own relief society so AER assists service members from other branches with accessing services from their appropriate agency. Not only does AER offer interest-free loans, grants, or a combination of both, the program also provides scholarships for children and spouses.
Melendez said that historically, USAG Stuttgart’s AER office has seen an increase each year in usage.
“This is exactly what we hope will happen, she said. “We want soldiers to use the program.”
To supplement AER’s mission, a fundraising campaign is held every year from March to June.
“The goal of the AER Campaign is to have soldiers 100% informed about the program and 25% participating in the campaign through donations,” Melendez said. “Donations correlate to understanding and believing in the value of the AER program.”
This year’s fundraising campaign runs through June 14. Service members, DOD civilians, contractors and other community members can contribute to the campaign here. Unit AER reps can also assist in setting up regular donations by allotment.
“Donations can be as little as $1 [but they] are needed to keep the program going,” Melendez said.
Donate to this year’s AER campaign at https://give.armyemergencyrelief.org/STUTTGART.