JOINT BASE LANGLEY-EUSTIS, Va. –
As military installations across the country face budget constraints and need to do more with less, Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia, has a very important wingman to help accomplish the mission, while saving money: the volunteer.
Last year, over 2,000 volunteers donated more than 130,000 hours of their personal time, contributing to nearly $3.25 million in savings for JBLE.
With 2015 coming to a close, volunteers from teenagers to retirees are once again on track to save the base approximately the same amount of money - more than $1 million at Langley and $2 million at Fort Eustis.
Across JBLE, volunteers help make a difference at USAF Hospital Langley, Airman's Attic, JBLE Tax Center, the USO, McDonald Army Health Center, Child Youth Services, Auto Craft Shop, McClellan Fitness Center, Groninger Library and other units on base.
According to Judy Theosodakis, Langley American Red Cross Chairman of Volunteers, who retired from the Air Force after more than 20 years of service and has been volunteering with the American Red Cross for almost 30 years, more than 90 percent of Red Cross volunteers on base are placed in the hospital. While many volunteers help in various clinics providing administrative support or answering questions at the information desk, those with a medical background and a current license on file are allowed to volunteer in their area of specialty to maintain their proficiency.
"We have people who want to keep up their skills and they might not necessarily want to have a job, so in order to keep those skills, they volunteer," said Theosodakis.
Theosodakis said she started her Red Cross career as a volunteer in the women's health clinic, putting together new obstetrics folders, something one of the technicians would have had to do if not for her or another volunteer.
Theosodakis believes volunteers play an important role providing continuity because of the transiency of military members.
"Doing the basic administrative tasks anyone can do allows the people with medical skills to actually use them," she said.
According to Peter Lamberti, Community Readiness Consultant at the Langley Airman and Family Readiness Center and an U.S. Army veteran, the U.S. Air Force has a history of volunteerism.
"It's kind of like a tradition," he said. "Air Force members and their families volunteer to make the organizations better. A lot of people who have gotten something through their relationship with the Air Force want to give something back."
But it's not just stay-at-home moms, former professionals or veterans who donate their time. The American Red Cross offers a Youth Program that places teenagers as young as 13 years old in volunteer positions at the hospital and other locations on base.
Whether looking for community service hours or just a way to give back, the program provides valuable skills for the youth, said Theosodakis.
"Learning to show up on time and dress the proper way, and dealing with other people, just learning those skills will get you a long way in the world," said Theosodakis.
While volunteers help support the JBLE community and save the base money, they also contribute to the atmosphere of the base's many units.
"It makes for a nicer environment," said Theosodakis. "Everybody's in a better mood if they've got more help. I think in general that just increases the happiness quotient on base."
For more information on volunteer opportunities, contact the Langley Airman & Family Readiness Center at 764-3990 or the Army Community Service at 878-3638.