By Sara Fowler 
 
Hurricanes, floods, fires, tornadoes, or a personal crisis. The American Legion Auxiliary Emergency Fund (AEF) provides disaster and hardship assistance to ALA members. 
 
Established in 1969, the AEF was created by then-National President Marcella Davidson and funded with a bequest from the estate of Auxiliary member Helen Colby Small of Burlington, Wis. Five decades later, the AEF is still helping fellow Auxiliary members get back on their feet. 
 
Last fiscal year (October 2024 to September 2025), the ALA awarded over $529,000 in AEF grants — the most impactful year on record. One hundred and seventy-eight Auxiliary members received grants for disaster assistance after enduring devastating events like fires, floods, and hurricanes. Another 96 members received grants for financial hardship to help them avoid homelessness and during crises like a medical emergency or job loss. The numbers represent stabilized families, safety, and hope. 
 
A few members who were recipients of the funding share the life-changing difference AEF made. 
 
Tornado tears apart home 
“It was absolutely terrifying,” recalled American Legion Auxiliary Department of Illinois member Amy Gebhart on being inside her house during a tornado in March 2025.
 
Gebhart, her wife, and Gebhart’s mother-in-law were living together in a double-wide manufactured home. Without a basement, they all huddled in the walk-in closet. 
 
The first tornado warning had expired, she said. Then, a second was issued.
 
“I left the closet [before the second warning] and saw a window in the master bedroom bow toward me,” Gebhart recalled. “I got back in the closet and pulled the door shut behind me and felt air at my back.”
 
She estimated they probably had about 20 seconds from when the hail started to when they had to be in the closet. The hail was so loud the three women couldn’t hear each other talk, despite standing beside each other. 
 
“As soon as we walked out of the bathroom closet, there was debris all over the floor, hail on our bed, the window was gone, rain coming into the house — water was puddling all over the hardwood floor,” she said. “The hail was so heavy it had piled up against the front door. It looked like someone had bombed our house. Our house was shredded — you could see through the siding.”
 
The worst damage was on the front of their house.
 
“Houses south of us had the whole backend ripped off, water coming through fixtures, rooms 
were flooded, roofs destroyed,” she recalled seeing the neighborhood once they were able to get out of their home. 
 
They lived with their house boarded up between March and June 2025. 
 
“After we got a new roof, we could move back in,” she said. “But we couldn’t touch the windows, and the front door was still covered, so the only access was through the back door.” 
 
The drywall had to be re-hung, so everything was ripped down to the studs, and they lived like that for almost three weeks. They had to repaint the walls because debris had come inside and damaged them so badly. 
 

“We needed the AEF money at that dire moment,” Gebhart said. “We couldn’t move home without that money. We wouldn’t even be here. We couldn’t move with our cat because we had a subfloor and couldn’t move home until the flooring was done. We got the flooring because of the AEF funding.”
 
Nightmare experiences like this are why the Auxiliary Emergency Fund exists to help ALA members in times of need. 
 

Gebhart knew about the AEF before the disaster; she’s been a member of the Auxiliary most of her life. 
 
“It meant the world to us because it was so surreal when it happened,” Gebhart said. “You see [disasters] on TV, and you know it’s a possibility, and then it does happen and you see neighbors band together. Meant a lot for people to care. It meant a lot for me since I’ve been part of the American Legion Auxiliary.” 
 
To donors who contribute to the AEF, the couple is grateful for members helping members. 
 
“We cannot thank you enough,” she said. “It absolutely changes lives. Please continue to do that. We can never repay those people back enough. We didn’t have money to pay for all this. Every penny helps immensely.”
 
Fire destroys house 
Department of Tennessee ALA member Peggy Monroe received her Auxiliary Emergency Fund grant years ago, but she continues to advocate for its importance and the difference it makes in the lives of Auxiliary members. 
 
Monroe’s husband was at work the day their house caught fire. It started in an outside furnace.
 
Monroe’s 3-year-old son saw the fire — he was outside in the backyard when it started. 
 
“I looked and saw the smoke,” she recalled. “Once I saw my house was falling down, I just went blank and into a state of shock. I saved nothing from inside the house but my purse.”
 
The fire was quite traumatizing for her son. The family couldn’t use the grill for a few years because he couldn’t take the sight of flames. 
 
Monroe had joined the Auxiliary in 1988 just three years before the fire. After the devastation happened, her unit president said she might be able to get help through the AEF and that she should apply.  
 
“We found a house we could rent and for six months, that money went toward rent,” she said. “Once we had a place to rent, we could get furniture. I really never forgot about AEF and always remembered the kindness.”
 
And what a difference that funding made. 
 
“I love to share my story — that’s when I started to get involved in the ALA and wanted to give back,” she said.
 
For those who have never donated to the AEF, Monroe said the funding is always needed.
 
“I really think this is the second most important thing we have,” she said. “Number one, our veterans. And number two, we have to take care of each other in times of disaster.”
 
 
Disaster Assistance
An Auxiliary Emergency Fund grant may provide immediate emergency assistance to eligible American Legion Auxiliary members in areas devastated by a natural disaster, such as fire, flood, hurricane, tornado, earthquake, and/or other severe weather. The applicant must have either received damage to their primary residence, been displaced/evacuated from their residence, or experienced basic out-of-pocket emergency expenses as a result of the disaster. Grants may be awarded up to $3,000.
 
Basic criteria for qualification 
The applicant must be a current American Legion Auxiliary member. Junior members are not eligible to apply. Applicant must have maintained continuous membership for a minimum of 36 consecutive months, based on their initial join or rejoin date and the date in which the application is submitted. Disaster application must be received within three months of the disaster. Applicant must be able to provide documentation such as photos of damage to the primary residence (exterior/interior/contents), itemized receipt(s) for emergency expenses, damage repair estimates, FEMA/insurance documents, current driver’s license, and other information as requested. Only one AEF grant (disaster or hardship) per grantee will be awarded in a 12-month period.
 
Hardship Assistance
An Auxiliary Emergency Fund grant may provide temporary assistance to eligible American Legion Auxiliary members during a time of financial crisis to pay for past due expenses related to their primary residence, essential household utilities, or a recent verifiable loss of employment income by the member or spouse. Grants may be awarded up to $3,000 with the intent to help members who have suffered a financial setback and offer a helping hand to help re-establish financial stability. Assistance will not be granted to pay medical expenses, credit card debt, or any other expenses not related to shelter, basic household utilities, or recent loss of employment income.
 
Basic criteria for qualification
The applicant must be a current American Legion Auxiliary member. Junior members are not eligible to apply. Applicant must have maintained continuous membership for a minimum of 36 consecutive months, based on their initial join or rejoin date and the date in which the application is submitted. Applicant must be able to provide full copies of past due bills for shelter (mortgage statement or landlord letter), essential household utilities (electric, gas, water, sewer, trash), documentation for loss of employment income, and other information as requested. Only one AEF grant (hardship or disaster) per grantee will be awarded in a 12-month period.
 
For more information or to apply, visit www.ALAforVeterans.org/AEF.