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JOINT BASE LEWIS-McChord, Wash. – As another Friday approaches, students from Beachwood Elementary School eagerly await the arrival of their favorite playmates.
Soldiers from the 5th Battalion, 5th Air Defense Artillery, in the 555th Engineer Brigade, have been volunteering every Friday at the school for six years. The soldiers help during lunchtime, recess and during class time.
“I just like kids,” said Staff Sgt. Jason Driggers, the non commissioned officer in charge of the program. “It’s good to volunteer.”
Each week, the soldiers play tag, basketball, tetherball, four square, world map and push the students on swings during recess. In class, they help the teachers organize class work, while serving as role models for the children.
It’s unheard of for a program to have this much command support, Driggers said, who has implemented a structure similar to a military operation.
“The new guys start at the swings; the kids love to get pushed on the swings,” said Driggers. “I try to keep the regulars in the same class so the kids build that bond [with] those soldiers.”
Arm wrestling five children at once is Pvt. O.G. Bridges favorite bonding technique, along with playing tag with 20 more at recess.
“I never had someone come over to my school when I was younger,” said Bridges, “so I figured I would volunteer and help the first chance I had.”
Spc. Ian Getman, whose sprained ankle from a soccer injury left him on crutches, continues to volunteer at the school, and is welcomed with hugs and high fives by the fourth graders.
“I have been doing this for three months,” said Getman, “I am not going to give up on the kids.”
Getman also volunteered with the Better Opportunity for Single Soldiers program during its production of “Theatrical Nightmare: A Walk in the Dark,” and dressed as Santa at Christmas.
With the 15 soldiers from the 5-5 ADA who volunteer at the school every Friday, as well as other community volunteer work to include, cleaning of parks on Saturdays and supporting the Town of Roy in Wash., the 5-5 ADA, 555th Engr. Bde., command and soldiers are completely dedicated to helping others.
“Many people join the [U.S.] Army to defend this country,” said Capt. Nathaniel C. Williams, the supply officer for the 5-5 ADA, 555 Engr. Bde. “Volunteering at this school lets you see the people that you’re protecting. I never seen this in the six years that I have been in the Army.”
The bond between the administration and the units is one of the major reasons for the program’s longevity.
“Anything the units can do they do,” said Josh S. Zarling the principal for Beachwood Elementary. “They are a huge help.”
Zarling said he is amazed by the countless hours the soldiers have put in to help the school, from bringing carpenters to built cabinets in classrooms, to bringing vehicles to clear debris from an area and replacing it with a track for the students.
“The units coordinate everything, I just wish there was a way for us to give back,” said Zarling.
| Date Taken: | 03.01.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 03.02.2011 13:55 |
| Story ID: | 66337 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE LEWIS MCCHORD, WASHINGTON, US |
| Web Views: | 47 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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