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By Bob Dyer
Beacon Journal columnist
Published on Tuesday, Apr 01, 2008
It's not about the politics.
You can hate the war or applaud the war and it shouldn't make a bit of difference.
All of us ought to have one thing in common: concern for the families of the men and women who are fighting it.
As the Rev. Richard Griffith notes rather bluntly, ''I can't imagine any parent not being able to empathize with a parent who sends a child off to war, afraid the next time they see him he'll be coming back in a box.''
That's why Griffith and his church have volunteered to take on a big job.
After reading our columns about military families suffering financial hardship because of high airfares, Akron's New Covenant Community Church has agreed to administer a charity fund that will help local families fly home a son or daughter who is about to ship out to Iraq or Afghanistan or wants to come home after a tour of duty.
We're calling it the Airfare Assistance Fund.
Thanks to the church's status as a 501(c)(3) organization, donations will be tax deductible.
The account will be separate from all of the church's other accounts, with separate signatories. The books will be open for inspection.
To donate, please send a check to:
Airfare Assistance Fund
c/o New Covenant Church
2095 W. Market St.
Akron, OH 44313
Families seeking assistance should contact the church secretary, Jan Irwin, at 330-253-6989.
Griffith, 66, is the interim pastor of the church, which was formed through a 2005 merger of New Covenant Presbyterian Church and Covenant Community Church. The group is currently renting space inside Fairlawn-West United Church of Christ on West Market Street, right next to the new Resnik school.
''This is beyond the politics of the war in Iraq,'' says Griffith. ''It's helping people. And that's what we're about.
''This is why we're a community. At its best, it's part of the so-called 'social contract.' We're in this together. And we help people in need — especially people who are in emotional need.''
The subject is indeed emotional. Reader Lynette Brown said she ''burst into tears'' after seeing the first column because it brought to mind the financial hit her sister's family took in flying home her nephew before his first deployment to Iraq.
''It's understandable that people who do not have a loved one in this situation may be unaware of the hardship it imposes on a family,'' she wrote.
Service members who want to come home before shipping out must pay their own way from their base to their home. Some airlines offer modest military discounts, but only on certain flights.
Akron native Josh Campbell, who recently finished a 14-month tour with the Army in Iraq, e-mailed to confirm my assertion that service members are usually unable to take advantage of cut-rate fares booked far in advance.
''During deployment,'' he wrote, ''we were always cautioned to not book flights because of extensions — and, yep, I got extended two months. On top of that, we don't know the exact leave dates until usually a week or two before leave. . . .
''I haven't been home to see my parents or other family for almost two years because I simply cannot afford it.''
Readers contributed $500 before the fund was even created. Another $200 rolled in Monday when Summit County Clerk of Courts Dan Horrigan passed the hat. Employees chipped in nearly $100, and he matched it.
All of the money will go to three groups:
1. Service members who want to come home right before shipping out to Iraq or Afghanistan.
2. Service members who are returning home after a tour of duty in Iraq or Afghanistan.
3. Families flying to a U.S. airport to meet a coffin.
Here's hoping we don't need to spend a penny on the third category.
Bob Dyer can be reached at 330-996-3580 or bdyer@thebeaconjournal.com.
It's not about the politics.
Get the full article here.
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