A steady stream of Soldiers, Airmen and Coast Guardsmen walked, in uniform, toward the double glass doors of Forgotten Harvest on a clear November morning, drawing curious stares and handshakes supplemented by warm greetings of "thank you for your service."
The servicemen and servicewomen are the first wave of volunteers in Michigan who are taking part in Gen. Martin Dempsey's Commitment to Service initiative. The initiative is designed to afford service members and professional athletes from the National Basketball Association an opportunity to work together to give back to their communities by volunteering for community projects. The project kicked off nationally on Veterans Day at an event in New York, with Gen. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Adam Silver, commissioner of the National Basketball Association.
But the program got an early start last week locally when servicemen and servicewomen and Detroit Pistons' Legend Earl Cureton repackaged food for delivery to food banks, shelters, churches and schools in Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties.
"Nobody cares how much you know until they know how much you care," said Maj. Gen. Gwen Bingham, commanding general, U.S. Army TACOM Life Cycle Management Command, using a quote she attributed to the 46th Quartermaster General of the Army. The general spoke to the group about the importance of the Commitment to Service program and how the military was giving back to the community.
Kirk Mayes, chief operating officer of Forgotten Harvest, spoke about the impact of the work the organization does and the fact that the nonprofit is the only one of its kind in Michigan. He also thanked the service members and explained how much the nonprofit relies on help from volunteers.
After the welcomes and thank-you's were over, the group put on their hairnets and aprons and departed for the cold storage area to begin repackaging food. Airmen washing potatoes grown on the Forgotten Harvest farm in Fenton, Michigan, and Soldiers breaking apart meat sticks that had been donated by a local company to ensure children receive enough protein in their diets. There were also Coast Guardsmen washing the exterior of jars of salsa and hummus -- not for delivery but to go into the giant refrigeration unit in the building for a later date.
With the workday over, the service members returned to their cars, talking eagerly about how much they looked forward to the next Commitment to Service event and how it felt to be a part of such an important effort.
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