Photo By Sgt. Garrett Savage | Soldier's children stop to sift through backpacks to see what supplies they received...... read more read more
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“We love you, we appreciate you and we just thank you from the bottom of our hearts,” said a mom volunteering at the Back-to-School Bash Event.
Families were able to pre-register online for each of their children to receive a free backpack full of school supplies. When picking up their backpacks they could also cruise the vendor tables to fill another bag with more complimentary items. Free health screenings were available as well as bounce houses, games, group exercise demonstrations, swimming and more.
“The main purpose of this event is to show our military families that the local community does support them,” said Zola Foret, the family area three assistance specialist for the Florida National Guard.
Foret said that events like this are a chance for the community to touch the lives of Florida’s soldiers and their families.
A bright-eyed young girl named Jamie Mann clutched her new backpack and said, “My Daddy is all the way in Germany.”
Charlotte, Jamie’s mom, was able to enjoy a free day of games, fun and relaxation with her daughter while her husband is away at Annual Training for three weeks.
For SSG Stephanie Bowie, getting backpacks is a big help for her family.
“These backpacks are amazing,” Bowie said. “It offsets a lot of cost for me because I have four kids and three of them are in school so that’s three backpacks I don’t have to buy. And my kids are always excited to get the boxes with the pencils and neat little folders and all the stuff that’s in there so it’s a big help for a big family like me.”
The company that sponsored many of the supplies this year also handed out the backpacks and wanted to do so anonymously. They asked for no accolades, but they did want the privilege of giving back to the soldiers and seeing the smile on the children’s faces, said Foret.
Over 600 backpacks were given away at the event.
“What little we can give here as civilians, this is nothing. You guys sacrifice, your families sacrifice, your spouses, your children. This is nothing,” said an anonymous volunteer.
| Date Taken: | 08.05.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 08.12.2017 11:04 |
| Story ID: | 244678 |
| Location: | STARKE, FLORIDA, US |
| Web Views: | 95 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
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