Helping those we serve

KILLEEN, TX, UNITED STATES

09.02.2017

Story by Cpl. Michael Smith 

1st Cavalry Division Sustainment Brigade

For two years the soldiers assigned to 96TC have donated, at their own cost, canned goods to the Copperas Cove Soup Kitchen.
This year, the total weight of the donations was more than 3,000 pounds, surpassing last year’s total of 2,000 pounds.
“It’s important to give back to the community, and helping those we serve,” said 1st Sgt. Quincy Rice, company first sergeant, 96TC. “What we can raise in a week can support them for a year.”
Rice turned the food drive into a competition between all the platoons in the company, with the winning platoon getting a day off from work.
The competitive nature of the soldiers, along with the desire to help those in need, provided the hefty donation.
“When the soldiers saw what we did last year, they loved it and wanted to beat it this year,” said Staff Sgt. Willie Cason Jr., platoon sergeant, 96TC. “Add to that, the competitiveness between the platoons, and you get the great result we had this year.”
Cason’s platoon won the competition with a donation of more than 1,100 pounds.
“It’s important to give back, especially in a military community,” said Cason. “There are a lot of homeless out there, and a lot of them are veterans.”
Staff Sgt. Michael Steele, platoon sergeant, 96TC, said some of the soldiers come from poor families, and may know what it is like to go to bed hungry, and that fuels the fire of their generosity.
“A lot of the soldiers’ backgrounds plays into it,” said Steele. “Being active in the community gives you a sense of where you come from, all of us genuinely care about giving back to the community.”
Steele said he thinks of the crowds of local residents that gather on Cooper’s Field when a unit returns from a deployment.
“The Killeen community supports us, so we want to do the same for them, said Steele.”
Rice said there are plans to donate turkeys and hams for Thanksgiving this year, as well as a significant amount of volunteer hours.
“It just shows how much our soldiers care,” said Rice. “As soldiers, we have an obligation to support the community as well as the country, but it’s important for people to see that we are more than just soldiers.”

• Date Taken: 09.02.2017
• Date Posted: 09.05.2017 17:12
• Story ID: 247174
• Location: KILLEEN, TX, US