FORT RILEY, Kan. - Santa Claus and members of the Noble Cause U.S.A. Foundation visited the Fort Riley Soldier Family Assistance Center to help Wounded Warriors and Families celebrate the holidays on Dec. 11.
Founded by Zoe Harrington about three months ago, Noble Cause is a foundation chartered to support the Warrior Transition Battalion and their Families. Businesses throughout the Kansas City area and individual donors gave funds and toys to Noble Cause as an opportunity to say "thank you" to the warriors and their Families for their service to the nation.
"Our mission is to create a huge public awareness of our warriors and their Family members and the sacrifices they have made for our country," Harrington said.
Harrington is the daughter of a retired Air Force veteran who served more than 20 years in the military.
"I was able to see firsthand what our Soldiers and their Families sacrifice for our country," Herrington said. "They serve as the gatekeepers in the security of our country and ask for nothing in return."
Realizing that some warriors might not have additional funds to purchase Christmas presents, the Santa Express spin-off of the Noble Cause was developed to assist. Santa brought gifts for Soldiers and Family members to include spouses and children.
"The Families suffer a lot in this fight for our country, and they often go unnoticed and unrecognized in this battle. We wanted to contribute donations to the Families as well," Harrington said.
Noble Cause had an enormous public outpouring of monetary and toy donations, she said. In all, Noble Cause donated more than 675 gifts and $4,000.
Brig. Gen. David C. Petersen, deputy commanding general - rear, 1st Infantry Division, attended the event to show appreciation for community support.
"We have a lot of support from outside of the post, obviously - people who wanted to donate and give up their time and resources in order to make something like this possible," Petersen said. "And, it's a great feeling to know that our folks outside the post are looking in to take care of our Soldiers."
"I wanted to see them face-to-face and actually thank them for remembering us and our wounded Soldiers. It is always nice to know that we are recognized for the things we do," Petersen said.
Noble Cause has provided an exceptional amount of support to the WTB and has had a positive impact on the Fort Riley community, according to Lt. Col. Andy Price, WTB commander.
"Eight years into the war, it is humbling to know that the folks out there still come out and support us," Price said. "To have the civilians want to dedicate their time and money, their talents to support these warriors is really heartwarming.
"The numbers (of donations) are overwhelming. We weren't anticipating really that type of out showing of support. So, we are looking for some other opportunities to maybe help impact positively the Soldiers on Fort Riley that might need a little extra help with Christmas. We are going to ask the Noble Cause folks to help donate some of those gifts to the Operation Santa Claus and maybe spread the wealth a little bit."
This was the first of several events sponsored by Noble Cause in continued support of the Fort Riley and the WTB, according to Price.
"We see this as a partnership that could last potentially as long as the Warrior Transition Battalion does. We have faith that the Noble Cause folks are going to be here to support us," Price said.
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