440th Airlift Wing recruiters go on mission of compassion

By Lisa Moore
440th AW PAO

April 28, 2011

	Walters

Friday was not just Earth Day for the 440th Airlift Wing, it was a day of compassion and thoughtfulness. Instead of planting seeds for trees, the recruiters of the 440th Airlift Wing were sowing seeds of goodwill, kindness and support. The multi-colored carpet of the Recruiting Service office had been covered with food, clothes, shoes, and stuffed animals and members of the 440th Airlift Wing Recruiting Services staff were poised to accept more.

The recruiters held a food drive to benefit victims of the tornados that ripped through the city of Fayetteville and the state less than a week prior. Working with a local crisis relief agency, pounds upon pounds of food, water, baby items, clothes and basic necessities were collected to aid local relief efforts.

The tornados, which occurred April 16, by April 19 had rendered eighteen North Carolina counties disaster areas and at least 26 of North Carolinas 100 counties had reported significant damage. According to statistics from N.C. Governor Bev Perdue’s website, as of April 20, 133 injuries had been reported, 439 homes had been confirmed destroyed with 6,189 homes with some level of damage. Businesses were damaged and destroyed and 2,000 employees were confirmed to be out of work.

Although no tornado damage had been reported on Pope Field, in-service recruiter Master Sgt. Albert Walker, said he was compelled to provide help in some way.

“To see the amount of damage was astounding,” he said. “We all felt like we had to do something to help.”

Led by Walker and with the support of senior recruiter, Senior Master Sgt. Jeanette Masters, the recruiters quickly moved into action. They placed phone calls, sent email, and used the good old fashioned word of mouth technique to spread the word about the food drive.

“I began searching the Internet and contacting local agencies to see who was doing something to assist the victims,” said Walker. With the observance of Easter in just a few days, Walker wasted no time.

“Fayetteville Urban Ministry was the organization chosen,” he said. “They were chosen because they had a plan to help.”

Serving Cumberland County since 1974, Fayetteville Urban Ministry provides emergency assistance for families facing immediate crisis. . With a program titled Emergency Assistance, the organization allows clients to shop its facility for clothing, to include school uniforms for children, small household items such as linens and bedding, hygiene kits and more at no cost. The store has a dedicated group of volunteers, who assist clients in finding what they need and keeping the racks ready to shop.

The recruiters had two solid days of collections and said that they were happy to be able to assist in some way. In two days, they received enough donations to fill a van.

“We did very well with donations,” said Walker, “and we only had a couple of days to collect. Thanks to the 440th, we are going to make an impact in the community.”

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