Shawn Esmeralda, 6, stocks up on school supplies during the Operation Homefront of Arizona giveaway event at the Mona Bishop Room at the Sierra Vista Public Library on Sunday afternoon. (Beatrice Richardson • Herald/Review)
Posted on 07/26/2010 6:38:34 AM PDT by SandRat
SIERRA VISTA — With bright smiles and little hands, youngsters dipped into boxes of school supplies and put them into their brand new backpacks.
“I just love to see their faces,” said Margy Bons, president of Operation Homefront of Arizona.
On Sunday, between noon and 4 p.m. in the Mona Bishop Room of the Sierra Vista Public Library, Operation Homefront sponsored a back-to-school supplies giveaway aimed at children of military parents.
“It really helps out a lot,” said Judith Esmeralda, whose husband is currently deployed in Afghanistan. Esmeralda brought her daughter, Amy, 4, and son, Shawn, 6, to the event.
“I changed to blue, because red is over,” said Shawn as he described the backpack full of goodies he would be taking into the first grade at Colonel Johnston Elementary school in August.
Part of a statewide program to assist military children and their families, the event pulled in about 200 kids and their parents looking to stock up on supplies for the new school year, said Bons.
The state chapter of the organization, which was formed in February of 2007, has been handing out supplies for the past couple of weeks and will continue to do so in cities around Arizona for the next couple of weeks.
“Our goal is to support our Arizona military, their families and our returning wounded warriors facing emergency needs,” Bons said.
This is the group’s fourth annual statewide giveaway. However, the organization does much more than just help with school supplies, Bons said as she talked about helping a soldier with six kids who was evicted after returning from Afghanistan.
“We paid his rent,” Bons said. VA benefits often take time to acquire and sometimes people don’t have the money to pay for things while they wait.
Bons takes the lead in helping soldiers and their families from her son Michael, a Marine who searched out a unit heading to Iraq and asked for a transfer so he could go. Michael was killed in action on May 7, 2005, and Bons found out about his death on May 8, Mother’s Day.
“If he can do that and give up his life, I can certainly dedicate mine to him,” and the things he stood for, Bons said, adding that her son is her hero. “He would have so loved the kids here today,” she said with a heartfelt smile.
As for the kids, they were all smiles. Even the younger ones who would not be headed to school this year received a little something to keep them from feeling left out.
Among the many items handed out and stuffed into backpacks were the pens, paper and glue sticks normally given out to school-aged kids.
However, the volunteers at the event also passed out calculators, shoes and even new printers.
“Every fifth person to come in and register got a printer,” Bons said.
Ian Sabin and his wife, Laura, brought their three children to the giveaway and were lucky enough to be one of the printer recipients.
“Just the luck of the draw I guess,” Sabin said with a grin as he talked about how happy he was that his kids would now have their own printer. The Sabin family had just returned to town after recently dealing with a family emergency, and the event was a big help in saving them countless hours of shopping time needed to prepare three kids for school.
“And being on an enlisted budget, it really saves a lot of money,” Sabin said.
In the end, its all about helping people, Bons said; the soldiers, their families, and anyone involved with the military.
“They are dedicated, and it’s our job to help them and be dedicated, too,” Bons said.
Shawn Esmeralda, 6, stocks up on school supplies during the Operation Homefront of Arizona giveaway event at the Mona Bishop Room at the Sierra Vista Public Library on Sunday afternoon. (Beatrice Richardson • Herald/Review)
We pay the people in the military so little that they have to have their children resort to this. Sad.
On a deployment? The pay is pretty darn good. I’m not going to bash efforts like this, but as a former military spouse we managed our money well enough not to have to take advantage of these types of programs.
“On a deployment? The pay is pretty darn good. I’m not going to bash efforts like this, but as a former military spouse we managed our money well enough not to have to take advantage of these types of programs.”
Obviously the parents of these children aren’t making enough money so they have to go and get a hand out for school supplies instead of purchasing them with their own funds.
While responding to small arms fire near the Hadithah Dam, Marines observed civilians running from the Hadithah Hospital. The unit was then attacked by a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device, which impacted a nearby building, destroying it and causing the hospital to catch fire.
Terrorists detonated an improvised explosive device and fired small-arms and rocket-propelled grenades from inside the hospital. Upon searching the hospital, Marines found fortified firing positions with sand-bagged windows.
Margy & Pop doing booth duty at the Freedom Walk:
These people must be different.
One of my fondest memories of school daze was picking out the “stuff” (in the Carlinian sense) that I would need for the coming year.
Maybe I’m weird that way. Or maybe I’m wired that way.
Our military should be giving out free toys and treats and building schools/homes for OUR OWN troops- NOT the children of the enemy.
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