The Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society

Blog

July 20, 2015

Each month in this section the editorial staff of Military Embedded Systems will highlight a different charity that benefits military veterans and their families. We are honored to cover the technology that protects those who protect us every day. To back that up, our parent company – OpenSystems Media – will make a donation to every charity we showcase on this page.

This month we’re featuring The Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society (NMCRS), a foundation that strives to provide – together with the Navy and Marine Corps – financial, educational, and other needed assistance to active-duty and retired sailors and Marines, their eligible family members, and survivors. The organization offers financial aid to active and retired sailors and Marines (and eligible family) in the form of interest-free loans or grants in case of urgent need; NMCRS volunteers also offer financial counseling to help clients improve their personal financial skills and show them how to work toward individual financial responsibility.

The society administers its own Education Assistance Program, which offers interest-free loans and grants for undergraduate/post-secondary education at an accredited two- or four-year educational, technical, or vocational institution in the United States. This financial assistance is available for children of active-duty, retired, or deceased sailors and Marines; spouses of active-duty sailors and Marines stationed outside the U.S. are also eligible for tuition assistance.

Medical help – including help with care and education after childbirth – is available through the Visiting Nurse program, while the Combat Casualty Assistance program will send a visiting nurse to consult clients who have served with the Navy or Marine Corps during recent overseas operations, regardless of current military status.

The MMCRS was started in 1904, with initial funding drawn from the 1903 Army-Navy football game. In its first year, the society gave $9,500 to families of enlisted men and widows; in 2014, according to the society, $48.5 million in interest-free loans and outright grants was given to sailors, Marines, and family members.

For more information, visit www.nmcrs.org.