April 14, 2003
Fort Stewart - Hauling out groceries to the car is likely just another chore for you, but for many shoppers at Fort Stewart's Commissary it's a blessing.
"Let's say it's the end of the month and you realize your checks not going to be in the bank until the end of the week, you have a toddler and an infant, and you need milk and diapers," Linda Heifferon hypothesizes.
That's where the base's food voucher program comes in, but with thousands of reservists and guard now called up it's putting a strain on the program and families.
"We can never prepare enough, last minute activatations caused extra hardship by having two separate households"
But the next time you go to the grocery store you can help, Harvey's has teamed up with WALB and the Association of the U.S. Army to sell "Support our Troops" signs. They cost five dollars and all the proceeds go back to the base to really support military families.
"We're very pleased they are doing that, that's just exceptional," Heifferon said.
The money will also fund a spouse's appreciation day, and a homecoming ceremony that's expected to be more emotional than deployments were. When soldiers in the Army's 3rd Infantry division do return home to Georgia, Heifferon says they'll know they weren't alone in their battles against Iraqi soldiers.
"When soldiers see all those support our troops sign, they'll know there was a community out there who cared." Also a spouse whose life was made a little easier while the soldier was away.
posted at 6:48 p.m. by dave.d'marko@walb.com
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