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MARINE CORPS BASE QUANTICO, Va. -- The President’s Volunteer Service Award is presented to the individuals who go above and beyond the call to volunteer in their community. The select few who complete the required hours are recognized for their hard work, dedication and selfless service.
Cpl. Andrew Bailey, a supply management division clerk, stationed at Marine Corps Base Quantico, is no stranger to volunteering and began giving back to his community in March 2019. During this time, Bailey’s senior enlisted advisor encouraged him and other Marines from the unit to pursue various volunteer opportunities.
“Our master gunnery sergeant was always big on getting out there if we had extra time,” said Bailey. “And just giving back made our relationship better with the community.”
Bailey routinely sacrificed his time and volunteered as a parking attendant at Prince William National Park and provided food for the less fortunate with the Streetlight Community Outreach Program. He never thought that he would receive an award for volunteering. His efforts resulted in a total of 101 volunteer hours, making him a recipient of the 2019 Bronze President’s Volunteer Service Award.
“It’s definitely rewarding,” said Bailey. “It just keeps you wanting to push forward and just keep doing the same thing… and volunteer more.”
Bailey began bringing others with him on his endeavors, asking some of his friends to tag along on the weekends. Volunteering with others proved to be an opportunity for Bailey to push himself further, volunteer more and work harder. He described volunteering with his friends as an overall fun experience.
“It definitely motivates me more to do more work when you have someone else there pushing you,” said Bailey. “It’s more fun to do it with people you know.”
COVID-19 restrictions have made it difficult to find volunteer opportunities, but as restrictions become more relaxed, Bailey plans to continue volunteering and serving his community as often as he can.
“It’s been difficult with COVID, but we made it work,” he said. “We found some stuff we would be able to do…, so we’re trying to get out there and do as much as we can.”
Bailey encourages individuals who want to volunteer, to take the leap of faith.
“Definitely get out there and try to do as much as possible,” he said.
“There are plenty of people that can point you in the right direction. I would say that it [volunteering] is an overall good experience - it’s rewarding.”
For more information on volunteer opportunities at MCBQ, visit
http://www.quantico.usmc-mccs.org/index.cfm/marine-family/quantico-volunteer-opportunities/#:~:text=Quantico%20Volunteer%20Opportunities%20The%20Mission%20of%20Volunteers%20aboard,the%20pillars%20of%20resiliency%20through%20impact%20volunteer%20opportunities.
For those interested in earning the President’s Volunteer Service Award, visit https://www.presidentialserviceawards.gov/
(U.S. Marine Corps story by Lance Cpl. Andrew W. Herwig)
| Date Taken: | 04.15.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 04.15.2021 11:28 |
| Story ID: | 393918 |
| Location: | QUANTICO, VA, US |
| Web Views: | 112 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Above and Beyond - Cpl. Andrew Bailey is awarded the President’s Volunteer Service Award, by Sgt Andrew Herwig, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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