Phoenix Reserve unit gives back to Anchorage hosts

by Capt. Elizabeth Magnusson
944th Fighter Wing

7/30/2012 - Anchorage, AK -- The 944th Fighter Wing's Annual Tour in Alaska in July allowed members of the team to volunteer in the local community.

Twenty-eight members of the 944th Force Support Squadron split their day off between two local charities, the Alaska Botanical Garden, and the Children's Lunchbox, a charity that provides meals to needy children.

"When we found out we would have an extra day off for the 4th of July holiday, we thought it would be a great time to do something a little different for a temporary duty assignment, give back to our host community," said Capt. Derrick Young, operations officer, 944th Force Support Squadron. "We worked with the family support volunteer coordinator at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson to narrow down potential volunteer sites. The Alaska Botanical Garden and the Children's Lunchbox seemed perfect for our group."

The team started the day off with a light workout in the Alaska Botanical Garden. Members divided into three groups, weeding the East Garden, fixing the wattle fence along the walkways, and laying dirt over a newly installed septic tank to prepare the area for planting.

"It was hard work, but well worth helping the local community," said Staff Sgt. Shawana Harris, assistant chief career advisor, 944th FSS. "I actually moved to Phoenix from Anchorage so it really meant a lot to me that we could come out and give back. With what we were doing you could see the improvements right away. It really was a great way to spend our day off."

According to Brie Xavier, Alaska Botanical Gardens programs and operations assistant, the gardens are open all year but only have one full-time, and eight seasonal helpers.

"Without volunteer help we wouldn't be able to keep up with all the work," said Xavier. "We really appreciate what this squadron has done. It would have taken our crew all day just to spread the dirt and your group finished it in an hour."

After a short lunch the 944th volunteers headed to the Boys and Girls Club where they were sent to three different locations to prepare meals and organize food donations.

The first group made 160 turkey club wraps, 160 ham and cheese sandwichs, and more than 200 bags of vegetable snacks for lunches.

"Here at the Boys and Girls Club we need about 40 lunches and 60 to 70 dinners a day to feed the kids who attend our activities and two other daycares," said Lynette Ortolano, program director for The Children's Lunchbox. "Any parent can bring their child to the Boys and Girls club for a meal."

After finishing the lunches, members took time to visit with the kids and challenged them to ping pong games.

The second group drove over to the portable food unit at Barrtlet High School which is located just outside one of the Air Force base. The crew sorted through and organized donated food.

The portable food unit helps students during the school year by providing up to four nutritional meals over the weekends. The program has grown one school supporting 180 students to five schools and 2,500 students.

"Thank you so much," said Carl Snyder food service specialist at the portable food unit. "It would have literally taken about four and a half weeks to do everything you did in one day. You can definitely come back anytime. There is always something to do here."

The third group went to the "cold kitchen" and put together peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, veggy snack bags, and packaging everything into brown bags for delivery to families in need.

"Something we didn't know when we started today was that the Alaska Botanical Garden actually donates all the produce they grow to the Children's Lunchbox and other food banks," said Maj. Lonnie Sell, 944th FSS commander. "It was nice to see our work basically come full circle. I think we all really enjoyed our day and giving back to the Anchorage community."