Edward Elliott, a first-grader at Pershing Hill Elementary School at Fort George G. Meade, said he learned in class what it means to have empathy for another person.
“It’s standing in somebody’s shoes, being a friend and being thoughtful,” the 6-year-old said.
Erica McCabe, the school’s counselor, said students are learning an important lesson in character development by participating in the Kids Helping Kids food and funds drive.
The Kids Helping Kids anti-hunger campaign, managed by the Maryland Food Bank, encourages students in Maryland schools to donate nonperishable food and funds to help feed children across the state.
The campaign, which began Oct. 2 and runs through Oct. 27, is made possible through a partnership with the Maryland State Department of Education.
Donations from schools in Anne Arundel County go to the Anne Arundel County Food Bank.
Last year, more than 400 schools took part in the anti-hunger campaign and contributed more than 415,000 pounds of food and $110,000. Of this, the county collected 176,418 pounds of food and $93,540, according to the campaign’s website.
McCabe said participating in the campaign “teaches children a sense of community, service and philanthropy.”
“This is vital,” McCabe said. “It is our own piece of social justice.”
McCabe, who oversees the food collections at Pershing Hill, said each classroom has a box for donations. Every morning, students place their donations in the box. At the end of the week, the school’s custodial staff gathers the donations from the classrooms and stores them for the final collection in November.
“When children are deprived and hungry, they can’t learn,” McCabe said. “This allows our students to help kids in their own community.”
In addition to the Kids Helping Kids campaign, Pershing Hill will participate in other character development efforts, such as National Kindness Week in November and an initiative to provide Thanksgiving food baskets for school families in need.
Garrison celebrates Hispanic heritage, culture
The colorful national flags of Mexico, Puerto Rico, and countries of Central and South America lined the ballroom stage at McGill Training Center at Fort Meade on Oct. 5.
The festive decor celebrated National Hispanic Heritage Month, which is observed in the United States from Sept. 15-Oct. 15.
The Dental Health Activity and the Fort Meade Equal Opportunity Office co-sponsored the 90-minute observance, which featured folkloric dance performances and a catered lunch from Taqueria Los Primos, a Mexican restaurant in Laurel.
“It was such a pleasure to come and support all the Latin and Hispanic members of the clinic,” said Air Force Lt. Col. Janice Allison, a dentist at the Epes Dental Clinic. “I haven’t seen anything this fabulous in all my 20 years of service.”
The DHA displayed cultural artifacts throughout the ballroom.
The artifacts included a pandereta plena, a percussion instrument from Puerto Rico; el pilon, a wooden bowl and grinder used by the Taino Indians of Puerto Rico to mash foods; hats, liquor bottles and ceramic plates from Mexico; a bottle of picante ketchup from Panama; a set of maracas from Puerto Rico; Santo Domingo coffee; and cigars from Cuba.
Col. Rafael Caraballo, commander of DHA, was the guest speaker.
The theme for the month’s observance is “Shaping the Bright Future of America.”
The roots of Hispanic Heritage Month date back to 1968. The observance begins each year on Sept. 15, the anniversary of independence of five Latin American countries: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua.
Mexico, Chile and Belize also celebrate their independence days during this period and Columbus Day is observed Oct. 12, according to the Hispanic Heritage Month website.
The website explains the term “Hispanic” or “Latino” refers to Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or others of Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race. Today, 55 million people, or 17 percent of the American population, are of Hispanic or Latino origin, according to the website.
During the Fort Meade observance, Col. Jose Condo, commander of the Dental Health Command-Atlantic at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, gave the opening remarks.
Condo then asked for a moment of silence for the survivors — and those who lost their lives — in recent Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, Jose and Maria.
The celebration began with a performance by the Epes Dental Clinic Folkloric Dancers: dental assistants Elba Cassort and Betzaida Encinas, Sgt. Nelson Caban and Sgt. Katty Lora Nava. The group performed a merengue salsa dance while waving miniature American flags.
Cassort, whose family lineage originates in Panama, performed a traditional Panamanian dance. At the end of the dance, she waved the country’s flag.
In his speech, Caraballo talked about his family’s influences on his life and how they led him to join the Army.
“It is an honor for me to talk to you about my development and the future of our next generation,” he said.
Caraballo was born and raised in Ponce, Puerto Rico. In 1986, he earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Puerto Rico and completed the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps as a distinguished military graduate. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in field artillery.
In 1998, he earned a Doctor of Dental Medicine degree from the University of Puerto Rico.
Caraballo said his grandfather, who was born in Puerto Rico and left school in second grade to work on his family’s farm, was drafted into the Army and served in World War I.
“He always spoke about his great experience in the Army,” Caraballo said. “He told me, ‘Get an education and go into the Army. Whatever you want to do, you can do it.’ “
One of the advantages of serving in the Army, Caraballo said, is the opportunity to meet people of other cultures.
“It was amazing how much I could learn and how much I could share with the other cultures. That helped me to grow as an individual and helped me to become who I am now,” he said. “The Army is an amazing organization due to its diversity. We are one organization, one crew.”
Compiled by staff of the Fort George G. Meade Public Affairs office. For more information about what is happening on Fort Meade, visit www.ftmeade.army.mil and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ftmeade.