Mission  & Core Values

THE CALLEN FOUNDATION MISSION & CORE  VALUES

Mission Statement

The Callen Foundation is dedicated to providing rapid-response emergency financial assistance to eligible active-duty Ohio military families experiencing unexpected financial hardship.

Working through our Board of Directors—many of whom are military veterans—and through the support of our business partners, donors, and community, the Foundation provides timely, compassionate assistance that helps military families overcome temporary financial emergencies while allowing service members to remain focused on their military responsibilities and family stability.

The Foundation provides one-time emergency financial assistance for essential living needs, including utility payments, rent or mortgage assistance, vehicle payments or repairs, emergency medical expenses, emergency food assistance, emergency travel, infant necessities, home repairs, and other basic household needs.

To ensure responsible stewardship of charitable contributions, referrals are accepted only from Ohio National Guard Family Assistance Centers or another Board-approved military referral source. The Foundation generally does not accept direct applications from the public.

The Foundation’s goal is to resolve a temporary financial crisis—not to provide ongoing financial support. Assistance is ordinarily approved only when there is a reasonable expectation that the emergency funding will stabilize the family and prevent the same hardship from immediately recurring.

Vision Statement  

The Callen Foundation strives to ensure that no active-duty Ohio military family experiences a temporary financial crisis without access to compassionate, timely, and responsible assistance.

Through careful stewardship of charitable resources, trusted partnerships with the Ohio National Guard Family Assistance Centers, and the dedication of its volunteer Board of Directors, the Foundation seeks to strengthen military families while honoring their service and sacrifice.

The Foundation aspires to build a lasting legacy of integrity, responsiveness, and compassion that will continue serving Ohio military families for generations.

Three Core Principles

1. Rapid Response

• Eligible emergency requests should be reviewed promptly and, when appropriate, emergency assistance may be approved and distributed the same day after referral verification.

2. Responsible Stewardship

• Every donated dollar is treated as a public trust. The Foundation seeks to maximize assistance while ensuring contributions are used where they will have a meaningful and lasting impact.

3. Trusted Partnerships

• The Foundation relies on the professional judgment of the Ohio National Guard Family Assistance Centers and other Board-approved military referral sources to identify families experiencing genuine temporary financial hardship.

Operating Philosophy

• Whenever practical, administrative expenses of The Callen Foundation are paid personally by Chris D. Callen or by Benefits Advisory Group Inc., allowing charitable contributions to be directed toward assisting eligible military families. While the Foundation reserves the right to use donations for reasonable administrative expenses when necessary, its longstanding philosophy is to maximize the percentage of donated funds distributed directly to recipients.

Emergency Assistance Policy

• The Foundation provides Emergency Financial Assistance, not ongoing financial support. The Foundation generally will not approve requests when it appears the assistance will merely delay an unavoidable financial collapse without providing a realistic opportunity for recovery.  Each request is considered individually, and the Board of Directors retains discretion to approve exceptions when extraordinary circumstances further the Foundation’s charitable mission. Before assistance is approved, the Foundation seeks reasonable assurance from the referring Family Assistance Center that:

• The hardship is temporary.
• The family has demonstrated responsible financial behavior.
• The requested assistance is likely to resolve the immediate crisis.
• The family is expected to regain financial stability following the assistance.
  

The following are examples of how we can help:

Why Should You Help A Family? An Article By Our Former Trustee?

Author – John Coppel, Past Trustee 

The media message reminding one and all to “thank a Vet” was created and spread widely by guilt ridden Viet Nam War non-Vets. The message was rightfully woven into the national fabric after the appalling lack of respect paid by we non-Vets to VNW Vets during and following their service. Unfortunately, while thanking a Vet is an improvement over deriding one the unspoken second half of the “catch phrase” remains unchanged. The “catch phrase” has changed from “curse a Vet, then forget him” to “thank a Vet, then forget him”. We non-Vets get to feel better about ourselves because we made “thank a Vet” a chapter heading in the PC handbook. But have we improved anything? We made a change but improved nothing. Fortunately we can still improve things and really “thank a Vet” by helping all the Vets. If we can change the spoken and unspoken parts of the “catch phrase” Then we VNW non-Vets and everyone else may have finally gotten it right, and that war can end. 

The media can help by completely focusing their messages on “help a Vet”. The “thank a Vet” message has been so effectively communicated that it has no further use. “Thank a Vet” has become part of the noise pollution of our time. At one time we non-Vet Boomers really did need to be reminded that “thanking a Vet” was the right thing to do. We were clueless about the short and long term negative effects of duty in a war zone, any duty in any war zone. We are still relatively naïve but are now at least aware that war fighting consists of terrifying, brutal, life threatening moments interspersed with days of boredom, stress and loneliness. War prevention is war fighting without the brutality; still risky, stressful and lonely. So yeah we “thank a Vet” now. 

If major media wants to become a relevant contributor to Vet support it needs to refocus its robust communication capabilities on increasing everyone’s awareness about the unmet needs of War On Terrorism Vets. This would be real public service, rather than noise pollution. The WOT Vets might appreciate our thanks but they need our help. 

The KIA numbers from this war considering its length are remarkably low, praise God. The proportion of critically wounded who can now be saved is a large multiple compared even to Korea and Viet Nam. This is a testament to the skill of military medical personnel and an unparalleled commitment to saving warriors‘ lives. Great. Fantastic! But what, besides paying our taxes, are we doing to help WOT Vets, wounded and not, to have a full and useful life as well? 

Many WOT Vets are in horrible, desperate condition mentally, physically and financially. They are in dire straits and need our help, massive amounts, for decades to come. This will be a substantial undertaking requiring a commitment of large amounts of our personal time and treasure. If we seriously want to improve things we need roll up our sleeves and get out our check books. The WOT Vets deserve our help and shame on us if we are unresponsive to the need. Except for the cosmetics we will be neglecting WOT Vets just as surely as we, personally and as individuals, did VNW Vets. 

So let’s have a parade by all means. Let’s have lots of parades. Let’s thank our Vets and love them up as they deserve. But let’s also send money, the more and the sooner the better, to Wounded Warriors, Armed Forces Foundation and similar legitimate Vets aid charities. A good if not well known Vets aid foundation close to home is the Callen Foundation.