AUSTIN, Texas, Dec. 9, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- Whether for war, hurricane, blizzard or flood, the men and women of America's National Guard and Reserve put duty before self virtually every day.
This year's devastating hurricane season, however, has left tens of thousands of Citizen Soldiers looking for help for themselves.
"Families in this Gulf Coast region are stranded between hope and home. That includes National Guard and Reserve families, too," said Molly Johnson, of the non-profit Citizen Soldier Family Support Foundation (CSFSF), based in Austin, TX.
This week, the Foundation topped $2 million in requested aid as thousands of National Guard or Reserve families -- an estimated 20,000 throughout the Gulf region -- have been affected by this year's hurricanes. The organization is processing more than $5,000 in aid each day to families ravaged by the storms.
"Our citizen soldiers are tremendous recovery specialists, but their own need for help is great, too" Johnson said.
"We receive desperate calls every day from citizen soldier families who are sleeping on floors with nothing but a change of clothes. Many have lost all their personal belongings, places of business or their jobs."
"That's reason for us to step in," she said.
CSFSF is the only 501(c)3 in America providing support solely for the National Guard and other reserve branches of the military. Its precision mission is clear: Serve active status citizen soldiers with financial, residential and social programs nationwide.
Though aid never seems to come soon enough, CSFSF is working through existing military and private industry channels to create quick and meaningful impact after hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
"We wanted to help the Foundation provide every ounce of support possible," said Ed Henderson, General Manager of ADT Absolute Security Systems in Austin, TX, which recently served CSFSF with a $45,000 donation. "We know there is no more an urgent time than now."
Requests continue to pour in as more citizen soldiers learn about CSFSF's commitment. Increased awareness breeds the need for greater funding so the Foundation recently initiated a campaign to raise an additional $1 million by the end of the year.
Support is clearly strong with December visits to the Foundation's website, www.csfamilysupport.org, already eclipsing November's totals through the first seven days of the month. Most donations are being made through this website's security-enabled payment link, provided by eDonations.
Behind all the energy are the concerning stories of people like Spc. Selena Lassien, a seven year veteran of the National Guard's 256th Military Intelligence Company out of Lafayette, La.
In April of 2004, Lassien's unit was deployed for Operation Iraqi Freedom III. After her year-long tour in Baghdad (Camp Liberty), she returned home -- not to the warm welcome of family and friends, but to Hurricane Rita.
"We returned home to Vinton (La.) two days after the storm to assess the damage," Lassien said. "My mom had extensive damage to her home and since that was also my residence as well as my little brother's, Rita left us all homeless."
CSFSF is providing $11,000 in assistance to help the Lassien family get back on their feet.
"She is like so many the other Guard or Reserve families down here," Johnson said. "They've dedicated their careers to helping America, and now they're the ones who need help."
The Citizen Soldier Foundation logo is available at: http://www.primezone.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=2164