PHOENIX — Margy Bons doesn’t wait to help struggling military families — she just helps them.

As founder of Military Assistance Mission, the Marine mom has spent more than a decade stepping in where government programs fall short, offering everything from diapers and car repairs to Christmas dinners and rent checks.

While national debates rage over defense budgets and veteran support, Bons is focused on the basics: food, shelter and dignity for Arizona’s lowest-paid service members.

More than 286,000 active duty service members were food insecure in 2022, according to a RAND report commissioned by the Department of Defense, a crisis that nonprofit efforts like Bons’ aim to confront head on.

Military Assistance Mission doesn’t just promise help; it delivers it quickly. Through a simple online form, the nonprofit pays bills directly. Bons says in some cases, the money goes out the same day.

That speed is what sets her group apart from larger organizations that often take longer to respond, Bons said.

“We don’t have to wait for meetings and people to get together to make a decision about, you know, ‘Should we help this person?’” Bons said. “Because by the time you get everybody together and go through a meeting, that person could be evicted.”

The urgency is driven by experience. She knows how rare it is for service members to ask for help in the first place.

“I’m a Marine mom,” she said. “My son was killed in Iraq. And one of the things I will tell you is they will chew an arm and a leg off before they’ll ask for assistance.”

The help comes fast, but it’s not unlimited. MAM is a one-time assistance program meant to catch people in a crisis, not carry them long term.

“We’ll help you,” she said. “But this is a one-time thing.”

Bons also prioritizes the privacy of the service members who reach out for help.

“Everything we do is secure,” Bons said. ”If a command knows that a service member is getting assistance, sometimes they can run into problems. We don’t tell anybody anything.”

That commitment to confidentiality is critical in a community where asking for help can feel like an admission of failure, particularly among service members who are taught to be tough enough to withstand any hardship alone.

Bons understands that better than most, and her promise of confidentiality gives military families the space to get back on their feet without fear of repercussions.

The no-questions-asked philosophy is what drew veterans’ advocate Joanna Sweatt to MAM. A Marine Corps veteran, Sweatt recalled how Bons stepped in a decade ago for her.

“She personally helped me … about 10 years ago,” Sweatt said. “I was facing homelessness. She helped me coordinate with other people and checks up on me regularly.”

What stands out to Sweatt is that MAM isn’t just another business endeavor or resume booster. It’s deeply personal.

“This is not a career move for her. This is her providing the service to families out of the loss that she has suffered as a Gold Star mom,” Sweatt said.

In 2005, Bons’ son, Marine Sgt. Michael Adam Marzano, was killed in action during Operation Iraqi Freedom. He was 28 years old.

Just months later, Bons launched Military Assistance Mission, which is named for her son, whose initials spell out “MAM.”

Today, the nonprofit is still focused on those most likely to be overlooked: the lowest paid ranks, many of whom have young families and little financial support.

Military Assistance Mission doesn’t just cover emergency bills. The organization throws baby showers for military families, provides Christmas gifts to children with deployed parents, and offers back-to-school support each year with haircuts, backpacks and supplies.

MAM also hosts an annual fundraising motorcycle ride and community events that bring service members together not just to receive help, but to feel seen.

It’s a long list of programs, but Bons said it all comes back to one goal: taking care of the people who signed up to serve.

“We owe it to them,” she said. “They raise their right hand for all of us, the least we can do is make sure they’re OK at home.”