Airmen raise money for camp scholarships

Published June 3, 2012
By Airman 1st Class Nathanial Taylor
167AW/PA

Martinsburg, W.Va. -- Last month, members of the 167th Airlift Wing raised money for scholarships to send children to the West Virginia National Guard Kids Kamp and Youth Leaders Camp.
Base wide, members raised enough money to fund 38 scholarships for children of Wing members, said Sherry Lewis, manager of the unit's Airman and Family Readiness Program.
"It costs $85 for the entire week for the Kids Kamp and $150 for the Youth Leaders Camp which can be a bit difficult for parents," said Lewis. "The scholarships are designed to offset the cost of attending the camps and therefore encourage participation."
Typically the Family Readiness Group provides four scholarships and the Wing Effectiveness and Diversity Council provides one or two, Lewis said.
But this year, Col. Roger L. Nye, commander of the 167th Airlift Wing, challenged the base to go above and beyond the ordinary amount of scholarships. Lewis said the base responded and a lot of people helped raise money. One shop raised a whopping $2,000 to go toward scholarships.
"We saw the email (from Maj. Kandi McCullough) about the Kids Kamp and tried to think of a way to help," said Master Sgt. Bradly Teter, Supervisor of the 167th Aircraft Structural Maintenance Shop.
"My counterpart, Master Sgt. Kevin Goulet, and I came up with the idea to have a gun raffle," he said. "We were the ones that came up with the idea, but nothing would have gotten done without the entire shop's participation."
Adding: "Everybody in the shop helped to raise the money."
Staff Sgt. Brian Donovan put the pair in touch with a local gun store and a local printing company that helped the shop with the gun raffle. "A total of 300 tickets were raffled off," Teter said. The three winners of the raffle were chosen late last month.
"Within the first week we sold 200 tickets all together as a shop and by the second week we sold the remaining unsold tickets," Teter said. "The important part is the kids that we helped."
"Aircraft Structural Maintenance went above and beyond," said Lewis. "They raised enough money to fund 18 scholarships."
Lewis said the Wing Effectiveness and Diversity Council, the Maintenance Ops Flight, the Communications Flight, the Maintenance Squadron and the Family Readiness Group all raised money to sponsor scholarships. An Airman also raised money through his civilian employment. Lewis said money for scholarships was donated from the Berkeley County Deputy Sheriff's Association and the Jefferson County Deputy Sherriff's Association.
"Any scholarships that aren't used this year will be saved to send 167th kids to Kids Kamp and Youth Leaders Camp next year," Lewis said.
"The base stepped up to the challenge and really came through for the kids," she added.