5th Special Forces Group
FORT CAMPBELL, Ky., Oct. 29, 2014 – For many soldiers,
fulfilling the call of duty is sometimes not enough. Army Sgt. 1st Class
Christopher Roberts, a food service sergeant with 3rd Battalion, 5th Special
Forces Group, uses his Army skills to make his community better.
For a little over a year, Roberts has devoted the majority
of his off-duty time volunteering for the Boys and Girls Club of Hopkinsville
and Christian County, Kentucky.
“It started with my church a little over a year ago, when I
first got involved with the Boys and Girls Club,” he said. “They said, ‘We know
you like to cook and like to take care of kids. Do you want to help out?’ and I
said, ‘Sure,’ and the first time I went, I fell in love.”
Roberts said it was easy for him to enjoy helping, because
he was using a tool the military ingrained in him to better the lives of
children in need.
Helping children who might not get an evening meal
“We have assisted the Boys and Girls Club to be able to feed
children who might not get an evening meal,” said Mary Curlin, ministry
coordinator for All Nations House of Prayer and a volunteer with the Boys and
Girls Club of Hopkinsville and Christian County. “They were not able to provide
as many meals as they wanted to when they first started out.”
To help the Boys and Girls Club provide enough meals,
Roberts said, he uses his own funds to buy what cannot be provided, because, it
furthers his passion for both helping and cooking.
“Cooking is my passion,” he said. “It’s my job, and it’s
nice to use what the Army has taught me, especially when using it at the Boys
and Girls Club. There around 150 children who come here, and who can cook for
that many people? Not too many, and with me having to cook in bulk all the
time, [that] makes it that much easier.”
It also makes it a lot easier to work with children when you
have children of your own.
“He has young kids. He interacts well [with these children].
He is a positive role model for the young men who come here; they look up to
him,” Curlin said. “He has also taken on responsibilities of coaching in the
Bud Hudson Football League, where a lot of the children on his team also come
to the Boys and Girls Club.”
Coaching football
Coaching a team takes a good amount of effort, so to help
with that, Roberts turned to his fellow soldiers for help. Army Pvt. Adrian
Cortez, a food service specialist with the 5th Special Forces Group, coaches
with Roberts.
“I started coaching with him because I love football and I
love teaching these kids football,” Cortez said. “It helps make them better,
and makes me better for teaching them.”
Roberts was nominated to accept his battalion’s jersey,
which will be presented during a military appreciation observance at Austin
State University’s Nov. 8 football game.
“Sgt. 1st Class Roberts has continually volunteered his time
and energy despite long work hours running the dining facility and has never
asked for anything in return,” said Army 1st Sgt. Steven K. Toro, first
sergeant with the Battalion Support Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Special Forces
Group. “He has made a significant impact in the Hopkinsville community and
selflessly gives to underprivileged children in order to provide them with hot
meals.”
Recognition is not the reason why he helps his community,
Roberts said. “My first sergeant said that it’s because of all of the things
that I do in the community,” he added. “He knows that I don’t do it for the
glamour. I do it because I love it.”
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