FORT HOOD, Texas - It is the season of giving and students from across the Killeen Independent School District are providing a helping hand with support from their Fort Hood Adopt-A-School partners here.
With the help of on-post KISD schools, the Spirit of Fort Hood Chapel food pantry received more than 10,000 pounds of food in one day.
One of the schools getting into the holiday spirit is Liberty Hill Middle School AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) students, who took the opportunity as a way to help the community. The program designed to support students who are traditionally underrepresented in higher education. Educator Shayna Alexander said that preparing students to succeed in high school is a great way to prepare them for adulthood.
“So over the past couple of weeks, I had students bring in nonperishable items to donate to families,” Alexander explained. “My goal was to show them how it felt to help someone else. We are trying to start lifelong habits, so once they know how it feels to help somebody else, hopefully they’ll continue on in their early and late adulthood.”
Senior Airman Connor Vonbecker, 9th Air Support Operations Squadron, said being able to be a part of Fort Hood’s Adopt-A-School program is a great way to give back to the community
“We’re just glad to be here and have the opportunity to help out our community,” Vonbecker said as he helped deliver dozens of boxes of food items to the food pantry Nov. 17. “I think that’s one of the biggest reasons why a lot of us joined the military in the first place, to help people and make a difference.”
The Spirit of Fort Hood Chapel food pantry is open to active-duty military members, family members, military retirees, veterans and National Guard and Reserve service members. Guard and Reserve troops not on active duty can use the food pantry with a chaplain’s referral. Teresa Parris, the administrative support specialist with the Fort Hood Garrison Chaplains Office, said active-duty troops can also receive Commissary gift cards if their unit chaplain brought them into the food pantry.
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