Joint Base San Antonio members raise $42,000 for Haitian relief Published Feb. 4, 2010 By Mike Joseph 502nd Air Base Wing Public Affairs JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO, Texas (AFNS) -- Joint Base San Antonio members came together to show their generosity with cash donations to relief agencies in support of the Haiti earthquake disaster. Airmen from the two installations currently under the 502nd Air Base Wing, along with Fort Sam Houston, have combined to raise $42,397. Lackland members collected $16,782, Randolph members collected $12,243 and Fort Sam Houston members collected $13,372 through designated service offerings. Lackland Airmen's response from permanent party, technical training and basic military training to aid in the relief effort was impressive, said Chaplain (Col.) Carl Andrews, the 502nd ABW chaplain. "Every branch donated; every branch (said), 'those people are really important to us, we care about them and we want to help as quickly as we can,'" Chaplain Andrews said. "And there was a very strong response by the roughly 5,400 from (Basic Military Training) last Sunday (Jan. 24). The trainees were as generous and serious as everybody else." The money raised by each Lackland chaplain branch was from one weekend's collections. The individual branches researched Haiti relief agencies before making a selection and forwarding the money. "(All the money) is from the pockets of the men and women in uniform and their dependents," said Senior Master Sgt. Doug Onwiler, the 502nd ABW chaplain corps superintendent. When the magnitude of the earthquake and its victims became apparent, Lackland Airmen began rallying to support relief efforts. The branches decided a designated offering was the fastest avenue. But money wasn't the only thing they wanted to send. But Sergeant Onwiler and Chaplain Andrews summed up JB San Antonio member's response appropriately. "I think the men and women at Team Lackland, Fort Sam Houston and Randolph all understand to not do anything ... we just couldn't," Sergeant Onwiler said. "Everybody's digging deep." "We care, we love and we wanted to respond," Chaplain Andrews added.