FMA Alliance Raises More than $500 in Just Two Days to Help Military Veterans

“I am pleased to support ARMing Heroes because 33,000 U.S. troops are coming home from Afghanistan between now and next summer,” said Curt Jones, a U.S. Army veteran who served from 1986 to 1990 and has been a collector with FMA Alliance since 2007.

Why does Curt stand behind FMA’s recent involvement with ARMing Heroes?  “ARMing Heroes provides support and encouragement to some of our warriors who may need a little assistance to re-establish themselves in their communities,” Jones said.

This kind of selfless patriotism made it very easy for FMA Alliance and its employees to raise more than $500 in cash last week in support of ARMing Heroes’ One for a Warrior program.

Launched just last month but taking off fast, the program works as follows:  When a collector gives $1 to ARMing Heroes, or when a company such as FMA Alliance donates an amount equal to (or greater than) the number of collectors it has, that collector or company may then refer U.S. military veterans to ARMing Heroes, for a period of one year, as a potential source for grant funds to pay off or pay down an account owed to an agency or its client.

ARMing Heroes defines a veteran as a person who serves or has served in any branch of the U.S. military, naval or air service, or National Guard, from any era, in an active or reserve capacity, for at least 90 continuous days of active duty and was discharged or released under conditions other than dishonorable. ARMing Heroes also extends benefits to the spouse and children of those persons defined as veterans.

With more than 22.7 million vets out there, including more than 5 million who are disabled, and an average American household size of 2.59 people as of 2010, that means up to 20% of all Americans, or more than 58,000,000 American consumers, could qualify for a One for a Warrior grant.

Other recent program participants include Nationwide Credit Corporation of Virginia, Eagle Accounts Group, American Profit Recovery, and Sa-Vit Collection Agency.  All companies participating in the program receive a customized ARMing Heroes certificate to post in their call center(s) and a customized logo to include on their website.  The certificate increases employees’ awareness of this potential payment source for consumers, while the logo posted on the company’s website enables qualified persons to more easily find out about this potential source of payment.

FMA Ups the Ante

To act as a force multiplier in its employees’ efforts, FMA encouraged employee participation by giving each employee who participated up to three “dress down” days, one for each dollar they donated up to $3.  In this small but important way, FMA ensured employee participation in this worthy program not only by publicizing it to employees, but also by actively encouraging participation.

Commenting on why FMA and its employees support ARMing Heroes through its One for a Warrior program, FMA President Mike Janakes stated, “A program like this gives FMA an opportunity to give back to the community in a way that not only honors our country’s servicemen and women, but does so in a way that’s appropriate to our industry. Best of all, it provides us a vehicle to showcase our gratitude for those who put themselves in harm’s way for every American. Everyone at FMA is very excited about being a part of this effort.”

For a summary of the organization’s activities since its founding, review the press release section of the ARMing Heroes website here: http://www.armingheroes.org/press.aspx

About ARMing Heroes

ARMing Heroes was founded and began operating in March, 2009.  The organization’s mission is to serve the needs of U.S. military veterans, including their spouse and children. ARMing Heroes fills a charitable niche by linking people identified with employment, credit, and financial counseling needs with the accounts receivable management industry, an industry uniquely poised to help in these areas.  Persons interested in volunteering their time and others interested in applying for benefits or pledging other forms of support are encouraged to contact the organization at www.armingheroes.org.

What Can I Do Right Now to Help?

• Visit www.armingheroes.org and join our One for a Warrior Program, sign up to help in other ways, or donate now.
• Friend us and post this article to your page on Facebook.
• Tweet about this article on Twitter.
• Join our group on LinkedIn, the ARMing Heroes Veterans Charity Supporter / Assistance Center.
• Comment on this article online and ask us to contact you.
• Forward this article via email to your key contacts.
• Print this article and fax it to your local congressional office and ask them to post our website on theirs as a resource for vets.