Photo By Samantha Harms | Renee Foley, the RSO Volunteer of the Year, Deacon Fred Jones, the Installation Senior...... read more read more
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FORT HOOD, Texas — The Fort Hood Religious Support Office held their annual Volunteer Appreciation Banquet May 6 at the Spirit of Fort Hood. The purpose of this annual banquet is to recognize the contributions of the chapel program volunteers to the religious support program and the Fort Hood community.
The installation’s religious support program relies heavily on the contributions of the nearly 500 volunteers who selflessly give their time and effort to provide essential support.
The RSO’s volunteers give more than 75,000 hours ever year to provide worship support, childcare, adult and youth religious ministry education, community outreach, hospital and nursing home visitation, food pantry support and more. The hours this year, in all, saved the installation and the Army $7,133,630.
“When I think about what it means, or what it takes to make a religious support program like this one, run, really it has to depend upon volunteers,” Chaplain (Col.) Darren Chester, the Garrison chaplain, expressed. “I have a team of about six here in the religious support office. And there are about 13 different chapel congregations that lead. There are a handful of various auxiliary ministries as well as several of our non-federal entities and various other programs that are going on all the time. What that means is we’ve got well over 700, I think I counted last count 738 names on our list of volunteers for the post. … That’s a huge number of volunteers.
“… You do what you do without expecting any kind of numeration, without any kind of promise of advancement,” Chester continued. “You don’t get promoted as a volunteer for doing good work to get a higher salary or bonus or anything like that. You simply do it because you love people. You want to serve other people. … No matter if you spend just a few hours this year or if you experience hundreds and hundreds of hours. Every one of those hours, every one of those minutes that you have given, have been done for the benefit of others.”
The volunteer recognition was done in several groups, broken up by chapel based religious support, community based religious support and para-chapel religious support.
The groups recognized for the chapel based religious support group were Alcance Servicio Hispano, Buddhist Community, Catholic Community, Chapel Next, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Comanche Chapel Gospel Service, Islamic Community, Jewish Community, Open Circle, Saint George Parish, Samoan Service and Traditions Chapel Service.
Groups recognized for the community based religious support were Catholic Women of the Chapel, Community Connections, Community Information Briefings, Food Pantry, Men of Honor, Mothers of Preschoolers, Protestant Women of the Chapel and the Vacation Bible School.
The groups recognized for the para-chapel religious support were the Child Evangelism Fellowship, Club Beyond, CRU Military, Pray for a Soldier Team, Soldiers Hospitality House, Navigators and the Chaplain Family Life Training Center.
In addition to the group recognition, the RSO also highlighted their RSO Volunteer of the Year and two individuals who were also recognized by the installation as the Installation Youth Volunteer of the Year and the Installation Senior Volunteer of the Year.
“So, what your volunteer hours mean to the Garrison Chaplains Office is monies that don’t have to be spent by the U.S. Army, by the U.S. government, by the Garrison Chaplains Office, for work that needs to be done,” Teresa Parris, administration support specialist with the Garrison Chaplains Office, shared. “Nothing you guys do is unnecessary. Every minute you volunteer for us is so needed. And we so appreciate it. This year, we had over 700 volunteers, that’s individual volunteers. … Your volunteers this year saved (the Garrison chaplains office) and the U.S. government and Fort Hood seven million, one hundred thirty-three dollars. … I’m so grateful for everyone, I just love you all.”
| Date Taken: | 05.06.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 12.04.2023 16:21 |
| Story ID: | 458080 |
| Location: | FORT HOOD, TEXAS, US |
| Web Views: | 11 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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