CHARLESTON AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. –
This year, the Air Force Assistance Fund campaign raised more than $83,000 on Charleston AFB, surpassing the wing's goal by more than $20,000 reaching a standing of 132 percent.
Capt. Marquette Moore and 2nd Lt. Jennifer Hegedish, the installation project officers, led the program on Charleston AFB. The two began work in early February, but the project officers had a lot to complete before they could even start recruiting representatives for help.
For weeks, the plan was hashed out. The project managers had to sift through dozens of daily emails, gather all the necessary materials, while still managing regular duties. They studied the intricacies of the campaign, minded the rules and organized the plan of attack.
"We wanted to make the work as efficient as possible," said Lieutenant Hegedish.
After several weeks of preparation, Col. John "Red" Millander, 437th Airlift Wing commander, established the campaign dates and the project managers were ready to begin reaching out to base personnel for eager and energetic volunteers.
"The response came quick and the enthusiasm was off the charts," Lieutenant Hegedish said. "It truly seemed that Team Charleston was chomping at the bit to raise money for their fellow Airmen."
The project managers organized the volunteers so there were group representatives, who then were responsible for recruiting squadron representatives. Each representative was given all the materials they needed, including name rosters for each person in their squadron in order to account for our goal of 100 percent contact.
"The entire group of volunteers met initially to go over procedures and strategies, and then, March 23, we turned them loose," said Lieutenant Hegedish.
In the first week of the campaign, Team Charleston raised more than $30,000.
"I cannot explain the excitement our volunteers expressed upon learning we had achieved nearly half of our monetary goal in just one week," said Lieutenant Hegedish.
As the weeks rolled on, the numbers fell, but progress was steady. Before long, other bases started finishing up their campaigns and reporting their numbers. Bases who reported "outstanding" numbers were recognized in Air Force-wide emails to all the installation project officers.
"Captain Moore and I felt the heat turn up," said Lieutenant Hegedish. "We wanted Charleston AFB to be one of the top bases and we were sure Team Charleston was up the challenge."
By the third week, the numbers were continuing to slide, unit inspections were on the horizon, and everyone's regular workload was weighing progress down.
"We started to question whether we thought we could make our monetary goal," Lieutenant Hegedish said. "Then, seemingly out of nowhere, we got a surge in participation and donations. We must have got a second wind."
In the fourth week, Team Charleston surpassed its monetary goal of $63,000 and squadron representatives had only reached about 60 percent of the base.
"That week, still reeling from our early success, we set a new monetary goal of $85,000 and set off on the last two weeks of the campaign," said Lieutenant Hegedish.
The campaign officially ended May 4. The volunteers brought in their final numbers and calculated the total amount of donations.
"It was such a sweet success, especially when you put so much of yourself into your work," said Lieutenant Hegedish. "I want to say what a privilege it was to work with all of our dedicated volunteers. I learned so much from this experience and I am so proud of what we have done together. Congratulations Team Charleston. We will make such a difference in our Airmen's lives."