Exchange shoppers generate $613,391 for Kadena community

KADENA AIR BASE, OKINAWA – Airmen, retirees, Veterans and military families know it pays to shop their Exchange. In 2019, authorized Kadena Exchange shoppers generated $613,391 of critical support for military Quality-of-Life programs in the form of earnings-based dividends.

The dividends help fund Quality-of-Life programs at Kadena Air Base, such as Armed Forces Recreation Centers and other programs that support the military.

100% of the Army & Air Force Exchange Service's worldwide earnings are invested in the military community, with 59% going to dividends supporting Quality-of-Life programs and the remaining 41% used to improve the experience in stores and at ShopMyExchange.com.

“The Exchange is Family Serving Family,” said Kadena Exchange Store Manager Flordeliza Payton. “Exchange earnings improve the lives of Kadena heroes and their families.”

The Kadena Exchange dividend is a part of the $217 million the Army & Air Force Exchange Service generated worldwide in 2019. In the last 10 years, the Exchange has contributed $2.2 billion to morale, welfare, and recreation programs integral to Air Force recruiting, readiness and resiliency.

Part of the Exchange’s dividend was generated by Veterans. On Jan. 1, 2020, 4.1 million Veterans with service-connected disabilities and certain caregivers were welcomed home with in-store shopping privileges. Since 2017, all honorably discharged Veterans have been authorized to shop the Exchange online. Veterans can find out more about their earned benefits on the Exchange’s community Hub page at https://bit.ly/Vets4Life.

Despite the upheaval caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the ever-changing retail landscape, the Exchange remains dedicated to supporting troops and their families, wherever the military mission takes them.