
Army Community Service staff members from U.S. Army Garrison Ansbach celebrate the ACS’s 51st birthday. (Courtesy photo)
Story by U.S. Army Garrison Ansbach Army Community Service
ANSBACH, Germany (July 28, 2016) – This week marks the birthday celebration for Army Community Service, which turns 51 this year.
Al Bonilla, director of U.S. Army Garrison Ansbach ACS, and several ACS staff members spent the lunch hour at the Urlas Exchange Mall greeting community members and providing program information. The ACS staff also served birthday cake provided by American Legion Post 1982.
Over the last 51 years, ACS has changed and grown, but since it’s inception in 1965 one constant has been the involvement of volunteers from the Army Family. Even before there was an ACS, Army spouses often banded together to voluntarily provide many of the social welfare assistance needs which are now provided in the Army Community Service centers worldwide.
The core programs and services provided by ACS centers have grown from its early days to include the Army Family Action Plan, Army Family Team Building, Army Volunteer Corps, Exceptional Family Member Program, Family Advocacy, Financial Readiness, Information and Referral, Relocation Readiness, Spouse Employment, Survivor Outreach Services, Transitional Compensation, and Victim Advocacy. ACS continues to grow and evolve to meet the changing needs of the global Army Family.
Community members who would like to be involved with ACS as volunteers can call 09802-83-2883 or DSN 467-2883. Prospective volunteers can also stop by the ACS building near the roundabout at Katterbach Kaserne. For more on the ACS, visit them at the USAG Ansbach directory at www.ansbach.army.mil/DirectoryA.html#ACS or at their Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation site at http://ansbach.armymwr.com/europe/ansbach/programs/army-community-services.
Additionally, full information about ACS will also be available at the USAG Ansbach Community Showcase, which is set to take place from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Aug. 27 at the Katterbach Fitness Center. More details about this event will be publicized here at the Ansbach Hometown Herald.