FORT BELVOIR, Va. - About 15 students from Fort Belvoir's 249th Engineer Battalion Prime Power School stepped outside the classroom and built a pavilion for handicapped children at the Sliver Lake Park in Haymarket Saturday.
The site serves as the home for the Rainbow Center, 4-H Therapeutic Equestrian Program, a non-profit organization that helps children with such disabilities as autism, cerebral palsy and cancer.
Petty Officer 1st Class Jason Duncan, a Navy Seabee and member of the class, previously did a workday project at the park in March and got word the program was looking to have a picnic pavilion built for handicapped children and their families. After suggesting it to his fellow students as a class project, the group was eager to get to work.
"I mentioned it to Jason and he ran with it. He did all the coordinating. This wouldn't have been possible without him," said Debi Alexander, the program's executive director. "The students from Prime Power really came through for us. What they're doing is not only a huge boost to the children and families in our program, but to the entire community."
Established in 1985, Alexander said the Rainbow Center provides horseback riding to more than 50 children with physical and mental challenges in Prince William County and other parts of northern Virginia. She said children who participate in activities like this experience an increase in confidence and self-esteem while receiving therapy for their specific condition.
Army Sgt. Oliver Hairston is a classmate of Duncan's at the school. According to him, being able to give back to the community is always a good thing.
"When it comes to children, projects like this are very special. We wanted to help wherever we could," Hairston said. "Local building contractors even jumped on board and provided us the materials. Everyone pitched in. It's been a great collaboration."
Chief Petty Officer John Clanton, a Navy Seabee like Duncan, serves as an instructor at the Prime Power School and is familiar with the group's contributions to the community. Besides doing work at the Armed Forces Retirement Home in Washington, D.C., Clanton said students raised $12,000 for a local Fisher House with an antique car show last year.
"They should be very proud of what they've been able to accomplish together. Who said the Army and Navy can't work together," Clanton joked. "In time, the Prime Power School will be leaving Belvoir as a result of Base Realignment and Closure. That means this will be the second-to-last class to graduate. I think it's a great project for them to go out on."
Fore more information on the Rainbow Center, 4-H Therapeutic Equestrian Program, including upcoming spring and fall events, visit rainbowriding.org or call Alexander at 571-332-2587.
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