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Shaw Airman pays it forward

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Krystal M. Jeffers
  • 20th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
SHAW AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. --  An Airman from Georgia was tasked with a temporary duty assignment here and drove all the way on his motorcycle. Just as he arrived at the Carolina Pines Inn, rain began to fall and he was greeted with bad news. The Airman didn't reserve a room and lodging was completely booked.

"It happens all the time, and people assume we are going to have a room so they don't call ahead," said Senior Airman Brittany Charusch, 20th Force Support Squadron shift supervisor at the Inn. "He was really upset and said, 'I guess I'm sleeping on my motorcycle now.' So, I went out of my way to call as many guests as I could and asked them, 'Are you still coming in tonight?' I don't have to call and ask them if they were still coming, but I chose to."

After almost an hour on the phone, Charusch was able to get in contact with someone who intended to cancel their reservation.

"The guy was sitting in the lobby really bummed out and I told him that I found him a room," Charusch remembered with a smile. "He jumped up and was so happy. Seeing how happy he was made the time on the phone worth it."

That wasn't the first time the 23-year-old went out of her way to help someone.

"I've never met anyone like her," said Staff Sgt. Naomi Williams, 20th FSS front desk supervisor at the Inn. "She will go out of her way to make you happy. She always has a smile on her face and when a customer has a complaint, she will try to fix it at the lowest level possible."

As a guest services representative at the inn and a shift supervisor, Charusch is responsible for the funds in the register, checking guests in and out, making reservations, re-viewing guests' accounts and handling complaints. Charusch doesn't just help people when on-duty but also in her free time and has been seen throughout the community volunteering. On a weekly basis she can be found at the Samaritan House, which is a homeless shelter in Sumter, S.C., that houses 25 people a night on average.

"She is always volunteering for Airmen against Drunk Driving," Williams added. "I think she does it every weekend. She is a really great wingman. Fellow Airmen can trust and rely on her."

AADD is program where Airman can volunteer in their off-duty time to be a designated driver for a fellow Airman.

Charusch is also a member of the 20th FSS booster club, the Rising Four and the Air Force Sergeants Association. She frequently helps at events the different groups host like fundraisers such as the AFSA's Sports Cup Fundraiser, 5K runs, and morale-raising events such as the Freedom bash.

Some of the other programs she volunteers for include the Pocalla Springs mentoring program, the Crosswell Home for Children, and the Deployed Spouse Dinner to name a few.

"Helping someone at my work is the same thing as volunteering," Charusch said "You didn't have to do it. You are not being told to do it. You know you are doing it because you want to. Seeing how happy people are because of the work and effort you put into it is very satisfying. I feel good volunteering and helping people. I enjoy it."

But where does Charusch get her passion to volunteer?

"My mom was a single mom with four children and I grew up with not a lot of stuff," the native of Warren, Ohio, remembered. "I (had) the essentials, but I was missing a lot of things. There were always people throughout the community like family friends and members of our church who would give my family things like food for Thanksgiving. They once gave us a whole dinner my mom could cook."

During Christmas, the church would hang her family's information on the Christmas tree and people were able to take a tag and buy a gift.

"Whenever I see one of those tags, I will always grab one because I know someone grabbed one for me and I remember how I felt," she said. "It is nice to grab one and give that same feeling to someone else."

Throughout the year, she gives time and supplies to those less fortunate. She donates home-cooked food and money to the homeless shelter, volunteers to be a designated driver for fellow service members, gives Christmas presents to orphaned children, and support to spouses who have a service member deployed. Whether she working or off-duty, Charusch is always helping others.

Karma is important to Charusch and she believes that when something good happens to someone, they should do something great in return. So, she tries to pay back the good deeds she received growing up.