{"id":3168,"date":"2018-12-03T18:13:35","date_gmt":"2018-12-03T18:13:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/publicaffairs-sme.com\/ExchangePost\/?p=3168"},"modified":"2018-12-03T18:13:35","modified_gmt":"2018-12-03T18:13:35","slug":"44-military-families-have-exchange-layaway-paid-in-full-at-surprise-events","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/publicaffairs-sme.com\/ExchangePost\/2018\/12\/03\/44-military-families-have-exchange-layaway-paid-in-full-at-surprise-events\/","title":{"rendered":"44 Military Families Have Exchange Layaway Paid in Full at Surprise Events"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Fort
Pay Away the Layaway Event at the Fort Polk Exchange<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A Second Round of Payoffs is Coming To More Locations This Month <\/em><\/p>\n

DALLAS<\/strong> \u2013 The Army & Air Force Exchange Service is teaming up with Pay Away the Layaway to make spirits bright for military families this holiday season.<\/p>\n

Exchange managers surprised the selected families at special events held last week at Forts Bliss<\/a>, Carson and Polk<\/a> as well as Joint Base Langley-Eustis. In all, 44 families had their layaway balances paid in full, totaling $4,700. More surprise events are planned for this month.<\/p>\n

\u201cPart of the Exchange\u2019s mission is supporting the families of Warfighters, especially military children who often spend holidays apart from extended family,\u201d said Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Luis Reyes, Exchange senior enlisted advisor. \u201cBy working with Pay Away the Layaway, we can bring cheer and relief to some of the best customers in the world throughout the holiday season.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Langley
Pay Away the Layaway event at the Langley Exchange<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Air Force retiree Sylvia Sawyer had no idea what to expect when she was invited to a \u201ccustomer appreciation\u201d event at the Langley Exchange<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the first time anything like this has happened to me,\u201d Sawyer said.<\/p>\n

The event held special meaning for Fort Carson<\/a> Exchange General Manager Lawrence Simmons because of the impact these gifts made to military families experiencing deployment.<\/p>\n

“We’re a big deployment base,\u201d Simmons said. \u201cThis is a way to give back and make some folks very happy during this holiday season.\u201d<\/p>\n

Military retirees benefited too. Saundra Diggs and her husband, Ivan, recently moved back to the Langley area after Ivan retired from the Army.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a big help to get our grandkids taken care of,\u201d Diggs said.<\/p>\n

Families were chosen because their layaways contained gifts for children.<\/p>\n

\u201cMilitary children experience so much while their parent is in the service,\u201d said Lee Karchawer, founder of Pay Away the Layaway. \u201cEasing the financial burden of holiday shopping is our small way sharing the spirit of the season with military families across the country.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pay Away the Layaway<\/a> is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that raises money online to pay off layaway balances. The mission of the organization is to inspire hope and spread kindness.<\/p>\n

Facebook-Friendly Version<\/strong>: The Army & Air Force Exchange Service has teamed up with Pay Away the Layaway to make spirits bright for military families this holiday season, surprising 44 families across four installations with layaway balances paid in full. Read more:\u00a0https:\/\/wp.me\/p9Q7PG-P6<\/a><\/p>\n

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— 30 —<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Since 1895, the Army & Air Force Exchange Service (Exchange) has gone where Soldiers, Airmen and their families go to improve the quality of their lives by providing valued goods and services at exclusive military pricing. The Exchange is the 61st-largest retailer in the United States. Its earnings provided $2.4 billion in dividends to support military morale, welfare and recreation programs over the last 10 years. The Exchange is a non-appropriated fund entity of the Department of Defense and is directed by a Board of Directors. The Exchange is a 50th Anniversary Vietnam War Commemorative Partner, planning and conducting events and activities that recognize the service, valor and sacrifice of Vietnam Veterans and their families in conjunction with the United States of America Vietnam War Commemoration. To find out more about the Exchange history and mission or to view recent press releases please visit our website at\u00a0http:\/\/www.shopmyexchange.com<\/a>\u00a0or follow us on Twitter at\u00a0https:\/\/twitter.com\/ExchangePAO<\/a>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

###<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Media Notes:<\/strong><\/p>\n

For more information or to schedule an interview with an Exchange representative please contact Alexandra Pirkle, 214-312-2143 or pirkleac@aafes.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Follow the Exchange:<\/p>\n

Facebook:\u00a0 www.facebook.com\/shopmyexchange<\/a><\/p>\n

Twitter:\u00a0 https:\/\/twitter.com\/shopmyexchange<\/a><\/p>\n

Instagram: @shopmyexchange<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Second Round of Payoffs is Coming To More Locations This Month DALLAS \u2013 The Army & Air Force Exchange Service is teaming up with Pay Away the Layaway to make spirits bright for military families this holiday season. Exchange managers surprised the selected families at special events held last week at Forts Bliss, Carson […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":3172,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"The #Army & #AirForce Exchange Service has teamed up with @PayAwayLayaway to make spirits bright for #military families this holiday season, surprising 44 families across four installations with #layaway balances paid in full. #layawayangels #kindness","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[25],"tags":[41,35,53,34,33,36,39],"class_list":["post-3168","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-press_releases","tag-holidays","tag-military","tag-pay-away-the-layaway","tag-photography","tag-press-release","tag-public-affairs","tag-the-army-air-force-exchange-service"],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/publicaffairs-sme.com\/ExchangePost\/2018\/12\/03\/44-military-families-have-exchange-layaway-paid-in-full-at-surprise-events\/","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"44 Military Families Have Exchange Layaway Paid in Full at Surprise Events","url":"http:\/\/publicaffairs-sme.com\/ExchangePost\/2018\/12\/03\/44-military-families-have-exchange-layaway-paid-in-full-at-surprise-events\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/publicaffairs-sme.com\/ExchangePost\/2018\/12\/03\/44-military-families-have-exchange-layaway-paid-in-full-at-surprise-events\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/publicaffairs-sme.com\/ExchangePost\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2018\/12\/langley-e1543860600264.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/publicaffairs-sme.com\/ExchangePost\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2018\/12\/langley-e1543860600264.jpg"},"articleSection":"Press Releases","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Marisa Conner"}],"creator":["Marisa Conner"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"The Exchange Newsroom","logo":""},"keywords":["holidays","military","pay away the layaway","photography","press release","public affairs","the army & air force exchange service"],"dateCreated":"2018-12-03T18:13:35Z","datePublished":"2018-12-03T18:13:35Z","dateModified":"2018-12-03T18:13:35Z"},"rendered":"