WOODBRIDGE, Va. - Marines with Marine Corps Recruiting Command spent the weekend assisting those in need by providing food, clothing and love to people living in tents in the Woodbridge area.
Gunnery Sgt. Tawanda Hanible, the diversity operations chief at MCRC, led the event with her organization Operation Heroes Connect.
“The idea just came to me one day that I wanted to do something for Thanksgiving with my organization,” said Hanible. “A friend informed me about Tent City so I did some visits and then I knew this was something I had to do.”
Hanible, along with other Marines from MCRC, and Operations Heroes Connect, spent all day Saturday feeding the homeless and supplying them with clothes and blankets. The Marines and civilians cooked food, put together tables and drove around the Woodbridge area feeding the homeless.
“I posted the event on Facebook and was able to get 55 people to sign up,” said Hanible. “We also got local support from a few organizations and just made it happen.”
The Marines who took part in the event, did what they could to provide service to the less fortunate. Captain Andrew Holmes, the market research analysis officer for MCRC, also took part in the event.
“It just touched my heart,” said Holmes. “I drive by these areas every day and had no clue that there are people living in these woods, struggling just to get by.”
Holmes and other volunteers traveled into the woods to provide food and drinks to people living in tents.
“I’m sure it taught all of us to be thankful,” said Holmes. “It was a great opportunity to give back to the community and I look forward to doing something this meaningful again.”
In the end the Marines were all greeted with hugs and tears of joy from those less fortunate.
“One of them began to cry,” said Hanible. “It made me feel like I really did make a difference and I was taking part in something bigger than myself.”