Asheville FRG Donates Christmas Gifts for Foster Children

Photo By Petty Officer 1st Class Kelsey Eades | NAVAL BASE GUAM, Guam (Nov. 26, 2019) Karly Barney, right, and Amanda Thrasher, family members from the Los Angeles-class fast attack submarine USS Asheville (SSN 758) Family Readiness Group, place toys into a stocking during an FRG Christmas fundraiser. The Asheville FRG raised over $550 to buy presents to be donated to the Harvest House foster children and families. An FRG is an organization in which family members, volunteers and service members can join together in order to provide a support service network among the members.  

SANTA RITA, GUAM

12.02.2019

Story by Petty Officer 2nd Class Kelsey Eades    

Commander, Submarine Squadron 15

Santa Rita, Guam (Dec. 2, 2019) – Members from the Los Angeles-class fast attack submarine USS Asheville (SSN 758) Family Readiness Group (FRG) fundraised and donated Christmas gifts to the Harvest House foster children and families on Nov. 26.

The Asheville FRG raised more than $550 to buy over 60 stockings and five household gift baskets as Christmas presents for the foster children on Guam.

“We’re all going through a rough time as our family members are gone for the holidays,” said Joanne Styger, an Asheville FRG member. “We created a goal, which greatly exceeded my expectations, to help those who were in an even more difficult situation during the holidays.”

Each stocking and gift basket contained basic necessities such as pajamas or a towel along with toys hand-picked from children their own age.

“Our children were very involved throughout the whole process and even helped pick out special gifts for each of the children,” said Styger.

The gifts and stockings were donated to the Harvest House where they will pass out the donations to local families hosting foster children. Harvest House is a ministry for foster children and families on Guam that provides for their physical needs, spiritual encouragement and emotional support.

For some FRG members, it was a chance to teach their own family lessons on giving back for the holidays.

“This was an amazing opportunity to teach my children about the spirit of the holidays,” said Alyson Nowrey, an Asheville FRG member. “We got to see all of this come together over the past couple of weeks and it feels fulfilling to accomplish this as a family.”

FRG is an organization in which family members, volunteers and service members can join together in order to provide a support service network among members and families. The group helps prepare members for deployments, support families during deployments, provide assistance to families during times of personal, unit or area crises, and welcome or mentor members to the Navy lifestyle.

Asheville is assigned to Commander, Submarine Squadron 15, which is located at Polaris Point, Naval Base Guam and consists of four Los Angeles-class fast attack submarines. The CSS-15 staff is responsible for providing training, material and personnel readiness support to these commands.

Also based out of Naval Base Guam are submarine tenders USS Emory S. Land (AS 39) and USS Frank Cable (AS 40). The submarines and tenders are maintained as part of the U.S. Navy's forward-deployed submarine force and are capable of meeting global operational requirements.

For more news from CSS-15, visit our official website at http://www.csp.navy.mil/css15 and our official Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/SubmarineSquadron15/.

Are you interested in taking orders to Guam? Want to learn more about the duty station and life on our island? For more information, check out the ‘Go Guam!’ website at http://www.csp.navy.mil/go-guam/ and download the ‘1st Fifteen’ checklist.

• Date Taken: 12.02.2019
• Date Posted: 12.01.2019 21:41
• Story ID: 353951
• Location: SANTA RITA, GU