When 100 Soldiers and family members from the 13th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion met at Northside High School Saturday morning to walk, their steps helped more than just their fitness levels.
The group participated in March for Babies, a three-mile walk to raise money for the March of Dimes, a nonprofit organization that works to improve infant and pregnancy health. The 13th CSSB donated $620 to the organization.
"We want to help kids and families in our community and this is the best way for us to do that," said CPT Kendra Keiser, public affairs officer for 13th CSSB and March for Babies team captain.
The walk was part of a community involvement program the unit launched in November, Keiser said. Soldiers from 13th CSSB have volunteered at Georgetown Elementary School in Columbus, and will participate in the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life fundraiser.
For some Soldiers in the 24th Ordnance Company, which returned Feb. 1 from a 15-month Iraq deployment, the walk was a way of reintegrating into the civilian world.
"We're not just feeling like Soldiers, we get to feel like normal people," said SGT (no first name) Sephiroth. "Being immersed in activities outside the military makes the whole soldiering thing less stressful for a lot of people."
SPC Jackson Kennedy, 104th Transportation Company, said March for Babies was a cause close to his heart. Both of his children, 3-year-old Carter and 1-year-old Kayla, who attended the walk with him, were born prematurely.
"This is important to me because it's for my kids and all the premature babies," he said.
CPT Max Donaldson, commander of the 104th Transportation Company, said walking with his unit was a way to give back to a community that has given much to him.
"I look at it as one big community - Fort Benning, Columbus, Phenix City," he said. "The Soldiers of Fort Benning are all part of this community, so we need to be supportive. As much as they support us when we come home from deployments, we need to support them as well."
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