Kadena Top 3, KMS give a ton back to community

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Zade C. Vadnais
  • 18th Wing Public Affairs
KADENA AIR BASE, Japan --  Kadena Top 3's Okinawa Outreach program teamed up with Kadena Middle School to donate approximately 2,000 pounds of non-perishable goods to two local welfare associations.

In addition to items collected at donation spots at Kadena's shoppettes, post office and gas stations, Okinawa Outreach received a large contribution from Kadena Middle School.

"The middle school donation drive was a surprise to me," said Staff Sgt. JaVona Pearsall, 18th Maintenance Group supply support liaison. "Ms. Bohn, a teacher from KMS, contacted me two weeks before the drive ended to tell me they took up our cause and they had over 1,000 items to donate to us."

"(The students) saw this flyer and they said 'this is something we really want to do,'" said Rita Bohn, KMS language arts teacher and National Junior Honor Society advisor. "I thought it was a very honorable goal to work toward."

KMS's success with their food drive is due in large part to the local chapter of the NJHS coming up with a fun and engaging way to get students interested in donating.

"The NJHS challenged their school to collect 1,500 cans, and the principal agreed to wear a kimono for the entire day if the goal was met," Pearsall said. "Unfortunately, they missed the mark but they did an awesome job collecting 1,167 cans."

The cans collected at KMS were added to the already huge stockpile collected from donation spots around the base to create a staggering final tally.

"From the entire base we collected over a ton (2,000 pounds) of donations," Pearsall said. "After we had to sort and quality check to make sure they weren't used or expired and labels were understandable for the Japanese, we actually donated a good part of that ton."

After collecting, counting and sorting the donated goods, Okinawa Outreach then had to transport the donations to their final destinations.

"We did two drop-offs, one to the Okinawa City welfare association and the other was to the Chatan Town welfare association," Pearsall said. "We had 10 volunteers to help deliver the donations. We had two very large trucks and three follow vehicles, and we split everything up evenly for the two sites.

"They were kind of scared when we told them how much stuff we were bringing," Pearsall continued. "It was a very large donation. If they didn't have enough space for the donated items we would have given them to the Naha food bank."

Pearsall said the welfare associations were very grateful for the donations, and that Okinawa Outreach's contribution came at the time in the year when their stock begins to dwindle.

"They were very happy with not just the amount, but the types of donations because sometimes when you hear 'donate to your local needy' it's always just rice and beans," Pearsall said. "We did everything from fruit cups, cereal, baby food, toothbrushes, toothpaste, shampoo--the good stuff. They were very happy with that kind of stuff."

Bohn hopes that through this project, students learned the importance of supporting people in need, an importance Pearsall recognizes as well.

"I think it's very important because it shows that we're a part of the community, we're not just here temporarily," Pearsall said. "We're residents here; we're not just visiting. This is our home, and to treat it like our home, we have to be actively involved with what's going on around our community.

"The welfare association is a big part of the community because there are still a lot of displaced Japanese that need help, and the Japanese government can't do it alone," Pearsall added. "We're here, so we should be helping out too."