Strength Meets Service

BY BRANDY CALVERT, Ed.D.

Peggy Harrison, coordinator for Christian Appalachian Project’s (CAP) Elderly Services Program in Jackson County, Kentucky had a serious problem. She saw a need for additional volunteers to help distribute supplemental commodity food boxes to a growing number of seniors (192 in all) in need each month. “We needed volunteers,” she explained. “Our numbers kept going up and I just saw that we needed help.”

Harrison knows the blessings and challenges that come with the distribution of so many heavy boxes. She reached out to a friend of CAP, Lieutenant Colonel (R) Stephen Whitaker, a Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) instructor at Jackson County High School, hoping that he could help. “I have a long history with CAP,” Colonel Whitaker proudly explained. “I know some of these families are really suffering and CAP has made a huge impact.” The long-time educator recognized the positive, ongoing impact of CAP on his community and did not hesitate to partner in the distribution of commodity boxes to elderly residents.

“Our primary mission is to motivate young people to be better citizens. Community service is a great way for us to do this,” he explained. To provide the needed support, Colonel Whitaker committed to engaging ROTC cadets in commodities distribution each month. A joyful partnership was born. The strength of young ROTC cadets and their eagerness to serve has been a blessing to the distribution program, which works to improve the health of low-income persons at least 60 years of age by supplementing their diets with nutritious USDA Foods.

Our primary mission is to motivate young people to be better citizens. Community service is a great way for us to do this.

--LIEUTENANT COLONEL (R) STEPHEN WHITAKER

“I really love the workers here,” said Cadet Luke Strong, a high school junior and leader of his ROTC unit. “We’re friends here. It feels good to be helping people and I feel like they appreciate us.” Strong is no stranger to Christian Appalachian Project—when he was a preschooler he attended CAP’s Child and Family Development Center.

CAP is a part of the fabric of the lives of many people in the communities in which we serve. Other cadets were proud to tell their own CAP stories. Two of the cadets were campers at Camp AJ. Another young man, Cadet Morgan Bellamy, has his heart set on becoming a junior counselor at Camp AJ this summer. He feels that leadership experiences such as serving at commodities distribution will help him to be an effective Camp AJ counselor.

Through this service-learning experience, cadets not only get to interact with CAP and their community, but they also gain invaluable leadership experience. Colonel Whitaker expects them to work together as a unit. He sends four freshmen, two sophomores, and two upperclassmen to each event. As the cadets rise in seniority, they gain more responsibility and lead their team. “They take care of each other while they’re out there, and CAP takes care of them,” Colonel Whitaker said. “This partnership is important to the community.”

Cadet Megan Carpenter is a freshman who had served at CAP commodities in the past. “The first time I served, I found that I knew people here. My neighbor was here,” she said. “Sometimes if you have everything you need, you forget that not everyone has everything they need. It reminds me to be thankful.”

The intergenerational connection is special. “These young people take me back,” Participant Bessie McDaniel reminisced at the sight of the ROTC cadets in uniform, “I was a medic in the Army from 1955 until 1958.”

McDaniel explained how critical CAP’s role is in Jackson County. “I think this makes the difference between a lot of people starving to death or surviving,” she said. “I don’t know what we would do if it weren’t for CAP. I’m grateful.” n

ROTC cadets from Jackson County High School volunteer each month to distribute commodity food boxes to seniors in their community.