Photo By Sgt. 1st Class James Avery | Milam Youth Activity Center volunteers Jacklyn Rogers (left) and Kaleigh Norrid weave...... read more read more
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FORT BLISS, Texas – The Fort Bliss Morale, Welfare and Recreation department puts its best effort to keep Soldiers and their families entertained with a multitude of events for the winter season.
But of all the things offered during the holidays, none perhaps, are as heartfelt as receiving an acknowledgement that the Army family has not forgotten you, wherever you are in the world.
To this end, care packages are assembled by student volunteers at the Milam Youth Activity Center, with the intent of being shipped to family members throughout the Army, regardless of how far those families have traveled, or for that matter, how long they have been absent from Fort Bliss and the MYAC.
“We do this because we’re a family here,” said 11-year-old Jacklyn Rogers, one of the many volunteers that helped with the program. “Family never forgets each other.”
Volunteers made multi-colored blankets from fleece and wrapped spiral notebooks with colorful, patterned tape.
Sheena Gomez, a child and youth program assistant at the MYAC said the children don’t volunteer because they are told to, but rather because they want to.
“They came up with the idea, did the prep work and pitched it to the faculty here at the MYAC,” said Gomez. “The children really love coming here to help out.”
According to the volunteers, more than 120 care packages are scheduled to be shipped this year. The packages are intended for families who were members of the MYAC in the past. The children, and the parents of those children, volunteered their time and energy to making the MYAC what it is today: a thriving, after school program where children can play and interact safely and also learn a thing or two about being a responsible young person.
“The MYAC gets a little better with every child who passes through here,” Gomez said. “Almost everything you see, and every program we offer, was designed by one of the kids here.”
The MYAC itself is what the children who work and play there make of it. As families leave Fort Bliss, they leave a lasting impact on the MYAC and its multitude of programs.
“Family members that leave the MYAC leave part of themselves behind,” said Raphael Marrero, an 11-year-old volunteer at the MYAC. “They all did something to make this place better.”
The Gone, But Not Forgotten program is well on its way to becoming a tradition at the MYAC. The volunteers steadily work away on care packages with smiles on their faces, occasionally taking time out for snacks and jokes with each other.
In time, these children will leave the MYAC family behind. But they leave knowing they will never be forgotten, and that hopefully, one day, they too will receive a holiday care package made with just as much enthusiasm.
For more information about the Milam Youth Activity Center and its programs, please visit the Fort Bliss MWR website at: http://www.blissmwr.com/mst/.
| Date Taken: | 11.13.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 12.01.2014 15:06 |
| Story ID: | 149097 |
| Location: | FORT BLISS, TEXAS, US |
| Web Views: | 83 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Gone but not forgotten: Fort Bliss MWR keeps in touch with past generations, by SFC James Avery, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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