The main goal of the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society is to help service members and their families achieve financial stability through zero-interest loans and grants.
According to Presha Merritt, director of the Quantico NMCRS office, in 2014 the Quantico office gave out $521,072 in loans and grants to active duty and retired Marines and sailors with military identification cards located in the Quantico area. Nationwide and overseas, the organization gave out $48.5 million to a total of 63,800 service members and retirees in need.
The NMCRS was founded in 1904, and as written on the organization’s website, initial funding came from the proceeds of the 1903 Army-Navy football game. Approximately 50 percent of NMCRS assistance goes to cover basic living expenses, such as food and rent. NMCRS will also provide funds to assist with transportation costs, car repairs, family emergencies, funeral expenses, household set-up, medical and dental care at civilian facilities, and education.
Merritt said she will often write checks directly to the entity that needs to be paid, such as a landlord, auto body shop or doctor’s office. The service member or retiree then has anywhere from three months to two years to repay the interest-free loan.
In most cases, to receive a loan, the client will need to make an appointment and sit down for a budget planning session. Since the society’s goal is to help clients achieve financial independence and stability, clients must first receive financial counseling at the office before they are given money or money is paid out on their behalf.
The exception to this practice, Merritt said, is the Quick Assist Loan. Clients can come into the office and request a Quick Assist Loan for up to $500 without having to attend a budget planning session. This loan was started in response to predatory payday lenders who offer instant loans with astronomical interest rates that frequently end up costing more than the value of the loan.
NMCRS offers additional services beyond financial counseling and interest-free loans, such as free in-home visits by registered nurses through the Visiting Nurse Program to provide health education and baby wellness check-ups and address other health concerns. There is also a Combat Casualty Assistance Visiting Nurse Program for service members who have been affected by combat-related injuries. The nurses in this program often travel out of state to visit Marines and sailors who have left a duty station to establish a home elsewhere or return to where they grew up.
Tammy Ackiss, a nurse with the Quantico NMCRS office, said she will see any Marine or sailor who has deployed to a combat zone — and his or her family — and provide education about treatment, medication and resources available, as well as emotional support. Her areas of responsibility include Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Montana and Virginia. She does not perform direct medical care but can instruct patients and caregivers in home healthcare and wound care techniques. She sometimes attends medical appointments with veterans so she can help explain what is going on and has helped patients get transferred to facilities that are closer to home and can offer better care. Regarding the goal of the travelling nurse program, Ackiss said, "We’re here to help them pull everything together and let them know they’re not alone."
Merritt has worked at the Quantico NMCRS office for more than 20 years and says it is the ability to directly help Marines and sailors that has kept her here this long. She is somewhat concerned about the drop in donations to the society over the last several years, however. Whereas donations totaled $223,643 in 2009, the largest amount since Merritt started working here, the total collected in 2014 was only $87,082.
The annual active duty fund drive to support NMCRS begins Sunday, though its origins are older than the society itself. According to the NMCRS website, because there was no pension system or survivors’ benefits in the Revolutionary War era and for some time afterward, "Sailors and Marines would ‘pass the hat’ to collect funds to help their shipmates’ widows and orphans." Marines and sailors can set up allotments from their pay to go directly to NMCRS, and all interested individuals can make donations via credit or debit card, cash or check. Donors can also contribute online, in-person at an NMCRS office or fundraising event, or through the mail.