With so many organizations and needs, it can be difficult for people to choose which to help - especially during the holidays when those needs are at their greatest. But for one senior NCO on Joint Base Lewis-McChord, the one to choose could not be clearer.

For the past 22 years, 1st Sgt. Valanteen Skilang of A Company, 308th Brigade Support Battalion, 17th Fires Brigade, has been donating money to Army Emergency Relief - one of the many service agencies with Army Community Services that provides assistance for servicemembers and their Families. Now she is encouraging Soldiers to follow suit.

"(ACS) has worked magic for a lot of my Soldiers, whether it was a grant or budget counseling on numerous occasions," Skilang said. "If I could write a big check for them, I would."

While Skilang still donates money on a regular basis, she has taken things a step further. She noticed a lot of new Soldiers joining the unit with young children, sometimes several, which Skilang knows all too well can bring financial hardships. So she drummed up support for them by starting a diaper collection drive.

The unit exceeded Skilang's expectations - and the individual unit's needs - by collecting around 50 packages of diapers. Skilang was happy to see there were diapers left over after her Soldiers took what they needed, so she did what any good NCO would do: she returned the generosity.

"Lord knows we've utilized ACS, and they've definitely assisted the Soldiers here in our company," she said.

ACS provides several resources and relies heavily on private donations for a variety of needs. One of its largest components, AER, gave out a total of 3,051 loans and grants totaling almost $2.5 million during Fiscal Year 2011 - and that is just JBLMwide. Jo Dempsey, JBLM ACS Family Services program director, said for those who received a grant or loan, there were likely hundreds more who came through her doors whom did not end up receiving financial assistance.

"It may be that we couldn't help them because of rules and regulations or they simply chose not to accept the assistance," Dempsey said.

Regardless of each person's situation, Dempsey and her staff make every effort to get to the bottom of every individual need and request. Sometimes it can be something as simple as providing a couple packs of diapers to parents to hold them over until payday. At other times the situation is more complex and warrants significant financial assistance. The primary goal of ACS is to get servicemembers and their Families on a path to financial freedom and where they no longer need to rely on ACS.

"It's looking at that Family as a whole and seeing what we can do to help them get to that next step and make it to where they can come in and hopefully get the budget counseling and get back on track," Dempsey said. "It may be that they just need a couple packs of diapers to get them through ‘til payday."

ACS gladly accepts donations of diapers year-round, but Dempsey said the organization's immediate need is for the Holiday Assistance Program. Mary Cron, ACS Financial Program Manager, said all money donated to the program will provide holiday meals to Families in need on both Lewis Main and McChord Field. Recipients are given a check for $35 to be used at one of the two JBLM commissaries. The garrison command sergeant major evenly distributes the checks to units, whose command sergeants major then determine who within the unit would most benefit from the money.

"The command sergeants major get down to the NCOs who know their Soldiers, and there might be that Soldier who has a Family that just doesn't want to come forward and ask for help," Dempsey said. "This is a simple $35 check that we can help make their holidays a little bit brighter."

So far Cron has planned for 425 checks to be distributed at Thanksgiving dinner, and hopes to have even more given for Christmas. The goal this year is to help 1,100 Families, so more remains to be done.

"These are major holidays where you have a special dinner, and we want our troops to be able to provide for their Family and take part without having to worry about having enough money for food," Cron said.

Skilang's brigade received 25 of those checks for Thanksgiving meals. Taking it yet another step, she and her troops are putting together 14 food baskets for others in her unit struggling this holiday season.

"I want to make sure when I'm sitting down eating a good meal at my house with my Family ... That my Soldiers are eating a good meal, too," Skilang said.

From diapers and formula to money and time, she made a promise that as long as she and her Soldiers can help, they will.

"When you're in a position where you do better than others, it's your responsibility to step up and help them," she said. "Whatever little bit we can do, we definitely will."