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Soldiers equip little neighbors with school supplies

  • Published
  • By Pfc. Gretchen N. Goodrich
  • HHB 35th ADA
OSAN AIR BASE, Republic of Korea --  Thirty-five Soldiers from Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 35th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, made one of their annual stops at the Ae-Hyang Won orphanage as part of their "Back to School Jam" project Aug. 18. 

Eighty children from the orphanage received backpacks full of school supplies, from pens and pencils to notebooks and glue sticks, as part of the battery's activity to help get the children back to school with all the right supplies. 

"It's always good when we're able to give back to the community; it does something for us," said Lt. Col. David Epperson, chaplain for 35th ADA BDE. "It's all part of selfless service." 

Soldiers from the battery volunteered to help out by sponsoring a child to prepare for school. After choosing a child to support, the Soldiers purchased various supplies for their child and placed all the materials into backpacks. 

"We get support from the Soldiers - no one complains about picking names and the civilians that work with us participate as well," said Staff Sgt. Yvette Edmonds. 

After arriving at the orphanage early Saturday morning, the Soldiers gathered in the auditorium and watched the children stream in from their rooms. Backpacks lined the stage area, decorating the hardwood surface with dashes of color and various cartoon characters. Each soldier personally handed their gift to their selected child one at a time.

"It really is a battery event," said Sergeant Epperson. "The commander handed out gifts to the children for the Soldiers who couldn't physically be there, and many Soldiers, including the first sergeant, adopted more than one orphan to take care of." 

For many of the Soldiers that participated, the best part was seeing the children's facial expressions as they received their backpack and rummaged their way though its contents. 

"I like doing things for someone less fortunate than myself," said Cpl. Melinda Johnson. 

As Corporal Johnson explained, she was even more touched when a young girl refused to open up her gifts because she wanted to give it to her mom. 

"I had to leave the room at that point or else I would have cried," said Corporal Johnson. 

After all the children received their backpacks, they ran off to their rooms and shared their new gadgets with each other; some even traded candy for pencils and other knickknacks. The Soldiers toured the building, spent time with the children and had lunch served by the orphanage staff. 

Many of the children are at the orphanage because their parents can't afford to raise them or their parents have passed away. Because the orphanage can't always afford to get the right school supplies, having the battery step in allowed the children to get what they need to start out school right. 

Although every Soldier took away something different from the experience, Spc. Lawrence Ranches said the visit hit a little closer to home for him. 

"I had cousins who we (my family) adopted and a lot of my friends were orphans," said Specialist Ranches. "It's always good to help out." 

As part of a way to give back to the community through the 8th Army's "Good Neighbor Program," the opportunity for the battery to support the orphanage not only helped the children, but ended up helping the Soldiers, too. 

"It's important to give back to the community and it's good the Soldiers have a focus besides going out and partying and working," said Sgt. Maj. David Poehlein. 

The battery already has intentions of heading back to the orphanage for a Christmas celebration in December.