Community Relations: Volunteers enjoy a day picking oranges at a local farm

from The Beacon Newsletter, February 2021

Meet the New Leaders: Timothy Dias, Fire Chief

Story by MC3 Timothy Ruple, American Forces Network, Det. Souda Bay

Sailors and civilians from Naval Support Activity Souda Bay participated in a community outreach project picking oranges at a local farm Jan. 26. The volunteers spent the afternoon helping Mary Olsen, a retired University of Maryland program coordinator, gather oranges from the many orange trees she has on her property.

They were joined by Nikos Anastasakis, a local national employee of NSA Souda and caretaker of the trees and the property. Anastasakis was the liaison for this event and NSA Souda Bay’s Chaplain, Lt. Michael Spoke, led the charge.

After picking more than 100 bags of oranges, volunteers said they were happy to be able to give back to the local community. The collected bags were donated to the Daily

**Volunteers pose with Mary Olsen and her family after an afternoon of picking oranges in her orange grove Jan. 26.**
Photo courtesy of Carly Spoke.

Care Center for Children and Young Adults in Chania and to the Mouzouras Community Center.

“This was a great opportunity for Sailors to help out the local community,” said Spoke. “Everything from the harvesting and donation delivery. A huge added bonus was being taught the natural and organic ways of farming in the Greek culture. This will be an outreach event that all who participated will never forget. Events like this really epitomize what Team Souda is all about!”

Olsen thanked the volunteers for their hard work and added that she always appreciates the extra helping hands in her orange grove.

This project was one of 17 community outreach projects volunteers from NSA Souda Bay have participated in around the local community since Sept. 2020. █