SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. - This holiday season Airmen from the Vermont Air National Guard Airmen Breaking Bread council helped to feed the local community adding nearly 1,400 pounds of food to the local food shelf. The group also helped to raise awareness of those who are less fortunate. By setting up boxes around the base, they collected and donated various food items almost three times the amount collected last year and 600 pounds more than the group had set as a goal.
The Airmen Breaking Bread council is in its second year and consists of eight innovative and hard-charging selfless Green Mountain Boys who emulate our continuing legacy in community involvement.
Group leader Senior Airman Carl Dudley, a respiratory therapist in the Medical Squadron and the person who started the council at base two years ago, noted Vermont is not easiest state to live in and it's not cheap. For those on a tight budget, or no budget, a can of soup that cost less than a dollar can make a difference.
“It helps out people going through rough times,” he said. “I know what it’s like to be there. When I was younger, my family was homeless for a while and we stayed at homeless shelters. I know where that food goes to and how it helps.”
The food drive’s success has inspired Airmen Breaking Bread to consider other volunteer opportunities throughout the year. Some ideas are visiting local hospitals or elderly homes and maybe reading books to people who could use some company.
“Not everybody in hospitals has visitors who stop in to show they care,” he said. “Small things like that can change a day, or a life.”
For Dudley, getting involved with the community is among a list of priorities in his busy life – he works and goes to school full time – but most importantly it embodies an Air Force core value that he holds dear: service before self.