USASAC employees Arin Wilson and Barrett Parris volunteer for Care Assurance System for the Aging and Homebound, or CASA, in Madison County, Ala. They build wheelchair ramps to allow senior citizens and the homebound members of the community to have ...
USASATMO Soldiers, Staff Sgt. Lexis Nunez, Staff Sgt. Dustin Dalia and Chief Warrant Officer 4 Melina Harris, recently worked with a local private school to prepare and deliver spaghetti meals to the Fayetteville Salvation Army. More than 160 dinners...
April is national volunteer month, which is dedicated to honoring all of the volunteers in communities as well as encouraging volunteerism.
While the U.S. Army Security Assistance Command is known as the "the Army's Face to the World," some of its personnel could be known as "the Volunteer's Face to the Community."
The types of organizations that USASAC personnel volunteer for run the gamut from traditional type organizations, such as churches, schools and youth groups, to the more specialized, such as building wheelchair ramps for the homebound and organizing a comedy show for charity.
USASAC personnel who volunteer aren't interested in fame or recognition -- instead, they are hoping to make a difference in other people's lives and inspire others to do so. Asked how someone should go about finding an organization to volunteer with, the overwhelming response from all was, "Pick something you are interested in or like to do that will help others."
Vanda Khan, who works at USASAC's New Cumberland, Pa., office in its CENTCOM branch, has volunteered for more than eight years every week at her church's Sunday Soup Kitchen. She started volunteering with her children to "show them everybody does not have all that they have." She also likes to cook, so volunteering is something she enjoys, and something her kids have also come to enjoy.
Similarly, three Soldiers from USASAC's subordinate command, the Security Assistance Training Management Organization at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, recently worked with a local private school to prepare and deliver spaghetti meals to the Fayetteville Salvation Army.
For Staff Sgt. Lexis Nunez, this was her first time to volunteer. "It's something I had never done before but was always open to the opportunity to feed families in need," Nunez said. She cited one of the rewards of volunteering is experiencing the Army value of selfless service.
"The feeling is wonderful, indescribable," she said. "It's something I would do again and bring my son along to experience that same feeling."
Chief Warrant Officer 4 Melina Harris is an avid community volunteer for the surrounding Fort Bragg area.
"I make it my mission wherever I am assigned to identify a group or committee whose primary mission is to serve the community contributing time and resources," she said. "And now I've had the privilege to participate in serving the homeless who frequent the Cumberland County (Fayetteville, North Carolina) Salvation Army for dinner meals. It has truly been my honor."
Staff Sgt. Dustin Dalia, who worked along with Nunez and Harris, has been volunteering since he was a teenager.
"The YMCA had a program where a teenager can volunteer a certain amount of hours and earn membership," he explained. "I did this with a friend and we were assigned to the primary children's afterschool program. It was a lot of fun playing with all the kids and we ended up really enjoying our time there and that is what initially got me interested in volunteering."
Dalia has continued to volunteer since that initial experience, most recently volunteering at the church he attends in Fayetteville. This was his first time working with the Salvation Army shelter in Fayetteville, but he says it won't be his last.
"The Salvation Army is a great organization that sets the example for all charitable organizations in America as they make a gigantic impact in so many communities," he said.
Tammy Balch, who works at USASAC's headquarters as a contracting liaison from Army Contracting Command, cites her mother as her inspiration for volunteering.
"I grew up with a mother who is a volunteer-minded person and who leads by example -- she is still volunteering at 80 years of age," Balch said.
Balch began volunteering regularly about five years ago when she saw a "Volunteers Needed" sign at a local pet store. She signed up to work with the local "no kill" animal organization. She works with the group once or twice a week for a few hours and for special events. Balch's work has ranged from feeding dogs and cats, cutting grass, transporting animals to adoption events and working at the organization's thrift store.
"The last two years, my main role has been as 'lead event coordinator,' where I coordinate with outside groups such as a UAH (University of Alabama in Huntsville) fraternity, Huntsville Mardi Gras Parade, etc., to showcase some of our adoptable animals and share opportunities we have to volunteer," Balch said.
Balch also started volunteering last fall at a local elementary school helping children improve their reading skills.
"I responded to an ACC email sent as a request from AMC (Army Materiel Command) requesting volunteers," she said. "Seeing a child gain confidence in learning a new word and improving their reading skills is a great day.
"Volunteering one hour of your time makes a lifelong difference in your life, as well as, those you are serving."
Barrett Parris and Arin Wilson, who both work in USASAC's G-3, volunteer for the same organization, Care Assurance System for the Aging and Homebound, or CASA, in Madison County. They build wheelchair ramps to allow senior citizens and the homebound members of the community to have access to their homes.
Wilson, an Army veteran who also works with a youth soccer team, was asked by a good friend of his, a retired command sergeant major, to join the CASA ramp team in 2012.
"There is usually a group of 8-15 guys that show up, and the lead usually assigns each person with a few of the various jobs that are required," Wilson said.
Wilson finds this volunteer work so rewarding because, "A few hours of your time has changed someone's life for the better." He also feels he is setting an example for his children, like Khan and Balch's mothers have. "My 13-year-old son, Cameron, has been to every ramp build with me. I'm hoping that he'll carry on volunteering for the less fortunate."
Parris said he started volunteering when he was in the military some 30-plus years ago, and he does what is needed at the ramp builds. He cites one instance an older man had three steps that were preventing him from leaving the house.
"We were able to give him his mobility back and that was a great feeling," Parris said.
Tammara Buckey works in USASAC's G-8, and has used her unique talents and skills to assist numerous organizations. She has been volunteering since she was a teenager, and the groups she has worked with include Community Awareness for Youth with the Huntsville Police Department, Rose of Sharon Soup Kitchen and Homeless Shelter, the Veterans Affairs, Habitat for Humanity, Special Olympics, Disaster Relief cleanup and Thrive Alabama.
"Last year, I started doing international outreach with a small village in India to help people find the means to educate themselves so they can achieve a better life," Buckey said. "I work with small businesses to get them to donate out-of-warranty IT equipment, such as computers, to send to India."
Buckey also started a comedy show for charity in 2014. "We raise money for some of the organizations I mentioned and individuals in need. I have kind of made that my focus with charity work since," she said.
Rick Bumgardner, an Air Force veteran and a member of the USASAC Public Affairs team, uses his specialized skills to volunteer regionally and locally. As a National Skip Patroller, he volunteers in Tennessee and North Carolina. Closer to home, he has started meeting with the all-volunteer Huntsville Cave Rescue Unit so he can became a cave rescuer and utilize his rescue training and ski patrol certification.
Bumgardner also assists Village of Promise, a charity that helps families end generational poverty.
"I've been teaching photography to local disadvantaged families as a way to encourage sharing a passion and an activity that has a long-lasting impact," Bumgardner said. "Ultimately, to me, volunteering builds humility and compassion and prevents me from taking my blessings for granted and keeps me grounded."
Bumgardner has an added bonus when it comes to the rewards of volunteering. "Ironically I've been blessed with a lifelong 'reward' so to speak, as I met my wife when I was volunteering in San Antonio in 1990."
Kim Reese, an Army veteran who works in the USASAC Command Group, was introduced to volunteering as a child and spent time while in the military working at shelters, reading books to children and visiting senior citizens. She began volunteering locally a few months ago at the Downtown Rescue Mission in Huntsville.
Reese best summarized what the national month represents: "To know that no matter how dim or bleak your situation is, there is always someone that is a little worse off," she began. "The smile that just a kind word often brings upon another individual when he or she becomes overwhelmed with life's disappointments is the most rewarding experience you can have -- the feeling that hope still exists in human kindness, and it allow us all to strive to become a better individual. I can go on and on, but for me, it gives me so much to look forward to because, for the grace of God, I could be the one in the shelter, feeling loss and a sense of despair."
Related Links:
U.S. Army Stand-To! Volunteer Appreciation Week 2015
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