Pope smashes AFAF goal for second consecutive year Published May 11, 2008 By 2nd Lt. Chris Hoyler 43rd Airlift Wing Public Affairs POPE AIR FORCE BASE, N.C. -- On the heels of a fantastic Combined Federal Campaign drive last fall, Pope once again came out in full force to donate to the Air Force Assistance Fund, raising more than $80,000 and meeting approximately 140 percent of its original goal. According to Capt. John Warburton, AFAF Installation Project Officer, as of May 2 Pope had raised $84,121.27, which was 139 percent of its original goal of $61,155, though donations from "The Extra Mile," the April 24 and 25 24-hour endurance relay, were still being collected. While Pope did raise $101,285.02 last year, beating its original goal of $81,817, the percentage of the goal raised was more for 2008, with the goal being beat by 124 percent in 2007. Despite approximately more than 2,000 active duty personnel leaving Pope in the last year due to the Base Realignment and Closure Act, participation was 35 percent this year, up from 28 percent last year. "The fact that Pope continues to lead the way in donation campaigns like AFAF and CFC is a testament to the Team Pope mentality, because the AFAF is all about Airmen helping Airmen," Col. John McDonald, 43rd Airlift Wing Commander, said. "The mission gets tougher every day, and it would have been easy to push donating aside, but every group and squadron stepped up to meet and beat the aggressive goal." Captain Warburton gave the credit to the group and squadron representatives as well. "They all worked tirelessly to obtain donations and keep accurate records and have been integral to the success of this year's campaign," Captain Warburton said. He specifically highlighted the 43rd Medical Group, which had the highest participation rate at 46 percent, and the 43rd Wing Staff Agencies, which met 260 percent of its original goal, the highest of any group. The 43rd OG "Penny War" turned AFAF into a competition, and the 43rd Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron came out on top, raising more than $700 through the competition. Because of that, the commanders of the 2nd Airlift Squadron, which came up less than $40 short of 43rd AES, and 43rd Operations Support Squadron will have to wear pink T-shirts saying they are commanders of "a cheap squadron" and "the cheapest squadron," respectively. 2nd Lt. Jimmy Livingston, 3rd Aerial Port Squadron, and 1st Lt. J.P. Felmet, 43rd Airlift Wing, representing the Company Grade Officer's Council in putting together "The Extra Mile," also deserve a lot of credit, Captain Warburton said, as does Dawn Doan from the Air Force Aid Society. "Any Airman could benefit from the funds we raised this year, and the Aid Society historically gives back two to three times what we raise each year to Pope Airmen," Captain Warburton said. "What we did here will benefit the entire Air Force family." While this is the one time of the year donations will be solicited, Airmen looking to help other Airmen can give back at any time. Information about giving back to all of the AFAF benefactors, including the AFAS, the Air Force Village Indigent Widows' Fund, the Air Force Enlisted Village Indigent Widows' Fund and the LeMay Foundation Indigent Widows' Fund can be obtained at http://afassitancefund.org.