For AFDW Airmen & Civilians, volunteer opportunities abound

Published May 6, 2011
By Benjamin Newell
AFDW/PA

AIR FORCE DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON -- Senior Airman Marquita Allen is the point person for a program that takes the Air Force District of Washington's manpower and applies it to charitable causes affecting people across the region.

As the volunteer coordinator, Airman Allen is gearing up to supply manpower for the Washington D.C. Special Olympics, held May 29 at Catholic University of America.

"We're all under a lot of stress with the Unit Compliance Inspection coming up," said Airman Allen. "For me, getting out and focusing on other people is a great way to relieve that stress. I just think that if more people stepped up, we'd see some of the stress levels come down a little here."

AFDW prioritizes volunteering in a number of ways. By assigning an additional duty command volunteer coordinator, the unit creates a central organizing force who spreads the message. Each quarterly and annual award ceremony includes a separate category for civilian and military volunteers.

"I always try to approach volunteering thinking about what I'll get out of it," said Civilian Volunteer of the Year Jessica Kasper, budget analyst for AFDW. "When you think about it, every time you work helping other people, you get more out of it than they do."

Mrs. Kasper donates a lot of her time and energy to her community. As a coordinator for her church in Columbia Heights, Washington, D.C., she helps organize volunteer opportunities ranging from Honor Flights of WWII veterans to the National Mall, serving at local homeless shelters and getting the word out for the Human Rights Campaign.

Military Volunteer of the Year, Senior Airman Richard Prestia of the 844th Communications Group got into volunteering with the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors following a deployment in Afghanistan. "You form a brotherhood out there with the people you serve with," said Airman Prestia. "When one of them got hurt, I always thought about what their families must go through. It must be awful." He has since logged hours with TAPS in Texas, Philadelphia and the National Capital Region.

Looking out to the horizon, Airmen with extra time have several options, said Airman Allen. In addition to the Special Olympics opportunity May 29, interested Airmen can contact Airman Allen to get into TAPS and work with fellow servicemember's children.