Nonprofit eases financial difficulties of deployment

The last year has been filled with a wide range of challenges for the families of 3,000 New Jersey Army and Air National Guard troops serving overseas.

When the troops returned last month, those challenges - especially the financial ones - didn't disappear overnight.

But thanks to the Family Readiness Council, Guard families have a place to go for help.

The all-volunteer nonprofit organization offers up to $5,000 in grants to families that can show they have taken a financial hit because of deployment. More than 200 families have received money, which is gathered from businesses and fund-raising events throughout the state.

"It's really hard for the average citizen nowadays with the economy and the recession, yet they're willing to dig down into their pockets and give to the soldiers and their families," said Linda Rieth, who founded the council in 2004. "That's patriotism and support at its best."

The council's 30 volunteers have raised $1.3 million and allocated $600,000, said Rieth, the wife of New Jersey Adjutant Gen. Glenn K. Rieth.

The grants offer help to family members who have a lot more than money on their minds.

"There's so many stresses that you're dealing with during a deployment," said Cheryl Betten, a South Jersey resident whose husband, Lt. Shawn Betten, just returned from his second deployment. "You're worried every day whether you're going to get a phone call, or a car's going to drive up to your house and tell you the worst news of your life.

"Things tend to creep up on you quickly," said the mother of four.

Although the National Guard has many resources for the soldiers and their families, sometimes its hands are tied when it comes to financial assistance, Linda Rieth said.

A survey found that roughly 20 percent of National Guard families find themselves in financial trouble because of a deployment, according to Rieth. The survey was conducted before the recession started.

A captain's salary, for example, is $35,000 a year. For someone making $75,000 annually, "that's $40,000, that's huge," Rieth said.

In addition to a pay cut, it may be the member of the household in charge of finances who is deployed, said Len Mayersohn, the chair of the council's grants committee.

Often, he said, it comes down to "poor management skills by younger people who have no experience working from a budget or working with a reduced income."

A wife will be "trying to manage everything, and she's only half the team that used to do it," he said, citing a typical situation.

Family Readiness Council grants can fund anything from home and auto repairs to child care and car payments. Mayersohn said the most common application he sees is for rent and mortgage payments, while Rieth said a major appliance's failing in the first year of a deployment is almost a guarantee.

The council awards two types of grants, a family grant and a business grant. The maximum family grant is $5,000 and every application goes through a grant committee. Mayersohn estimated that 90 percent of the applications are approved. The council pays the bill directly to whomever it is owed, usually within about a week.

The second type of grant offered is a business grant, for which the maximum is $10,000. The business grant is designed for soldiers who own businesses and come home to find they were badly managed. Mayersohn said a dozen of these grants have been given out.

With the return of almost 3,000 troops, coupled with the tough economic climate, the council anticipates a spike in applications in the coming months. Mayersohn said he had received about 20 applications in the last two weeks.

"There's a lot of people who came back and don't have jobs now," he said. "People are coming back, and they had a salary when they are in uniform. Now they're out looking for a job."

Under a federal law, returning service members are entitled to their old job back, said Guard spokesman Kryn Westhoven. If the job itself has been eliminated, however, the service member must look elsewhere for employment.

Members of the council say they don't expect to run out of grants, but if they do, there's always more fundraising.

"If it's not there, then we're going to go back to the communities and say, 'Hey, look, you know what? We have all these grants coming in and we need your help,'" Rieth said. "People don't even hesitate."

The council's fund-raising events - spaghetti dinners, pancake breakfasts, dinner-dances - are always well attended because people are so willing to give, she said.

A range of companies - including Wawa, Wegman's, and Pepsi-Cola - have helped out, donating food and drinks for the council's events. Community groups have also helped out, including the Jewish War Veterans of Cherry Hill, and the Haddonfield law firm Adinolfi & Goldstein, where Cheryl Betten is office manager.

"After they helped me when I needed it, I do whatever I can," Betten said. "I feel strongly in giving back to them."

Adinolfi & Goldstein has helped raise money for the last few years, including hosting an annual veterans' dinner-dance. The firm has donated more than $100,000, Betten said.

In addition to the help of the community, Rieth said, the National Guard has been tremendously supportive.

"It's really been a close-knit partnership," she said. "You really couldn't do one without the other. Ultimately, we're there for the same reasons."