Photo By Wendy Arevalo | American Red Cross volunteers Melanie Beasley and Krystal Agnew handle office tasks at...... read more read more
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FORT KNOX, Ky. – Though she no longer serves in the Army, Army spouse Melanie Beasley is the perfect example of someone living the Army value of selfless service.
Since 2017, she has logged 678.6 hours as a volunteer with the 1st Theater Sustainment Command (TSC) Soldier Family Readiness Group (SFRG).
Soldier Family Readiness Groups provide a support system for Army families and help keep them connected to their unit and service members.
Those 678.6 volunteer hours don’t include the time she volunteers at the American Red Cross office on Fort Knox. Beasley volunteers 30 to 40 hours a week at the American Red Cross office on Fort Knox, according to May Giulitto, American Red Cross director, service to the armed forces, Kentucky region.
As the lead engagement volunteer, Beasley screens perspective volunteers and assists with blood drives and other Red Cross events.
“She’s very passionate and very dependable,” Giulitto said. “I’m very lucky to have her because without her, our volunteers wouldn’t be engaged.”
Beasley’s dedication to volunteering has earned her multiple awards and recognition, including being named United States Army Central (USARCENT) Volunteer of the Year in 2017 and a nomination as Armed Forces Military Spouse of the Year in 2019.
But, the self-effacing veteran doesn’t do it to earn recognition.
“I was a service member and there were some times when we didn’t have an active FRG, and then there were times when we did have an active FRG, and I saw the difference,” said Beasley. “As a Soldier there were times that I wished I had been taken care of, at least someone to call and say hi; it’s tough sometimes when you’re in a new place and you don’t have that support.”
Beasley and her husband, Sgt. 1st Class Warren Beasley, moved to Fort Knox in 2017 when the unit transitioned from Fort Bragg, N.C.
Having served as the SFRG Leader at the Fort Bragg 1st TSC unit, she stepped back into the role in Fort Knox.
She instituted a barracks welcoming program where volunteers made care baskets for Soldiers who were coming home from deployment.
“I really felt good when we welcomed the Soldiers home—whether it was welcoming them home from deployment or taking care of them when they first got here—making the little welcome home baskets really made me feel good.”
Beasley, who grew up on a farm in the village of Milladore, Wis., met her husband while they were stationed in Germany. The couple have been married for 15 years and have a teenage son.
“He’s supported me through and through,” Beasley said. “He’s assisted me with a lot of different things, whether it was with the SFRG or the Red Cross; if I was doing something, he was there helping me.”
Warren Beasley said he’s very proud of his wife and grateful for all she does for him and the unit.
“She supports me 100 percent, and she supports the unit 100 percent,” he said. “She always wants to help and give back to the community and to the service; it’s her way of giving back to the Army because she’s no longer in it.”
Beasley currently serves as the SFRG secretary, CARE Team member and key caller. CARE Team members provide emotional and logistical support to the families of injured or deceased service members. Key callers call family members of service members that are deployed monthly to see how they are doing.
1st TSC Family Readiness Support Assistant Theresa Scott said that Beasley is an exceptional volunteer who is doing a lot for the unit.
“She’s humble, dependable, creative, a team player, and is passionate about giving back to Soldiers and other volunteers,” Scott said. “Melanie looks for opportunities to always put resources in the hands of every Soldier, civilian and family member, which assists them in being prepared in any situation, thus building resiliency within the 1st TSC SFRG.”
If interested in volunteering for the 1st TSC SFRG, contact 1tscfrg@gmail.com.
| Date Taken: | 09.20.2019 |
| Date Posted: | 09.20.2019 13:48 |
| Story ID: | 342596 |
| Location: | FORT KNOX, KY, US |
| Web Views: | 43 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Volunteer Spotlight: Melanie Beasley, by Wendy Arevalo, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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