Email   Print   Share By Sgt. Eric Glassey, 4th PAD

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Volunteers with Hope Pregnancy Center open donations during the Fort Hood area Enlisted Spouses Club’s Babyless Baby Shower Oct. 25 in support of the local Make a Difference Day campaign. The Hope Pregnancy Center was one of 75 local nonprofit organizations that received support during the campaign. Sgt. Eric Glassey, 4th PAD

Marla Schroeder, III Corps and Fort Hood command sergeant major’s spouse, and Amanda Gault, U.S. Army Garrison-Fort Hood command sergeant major’s spouse, open donations for the Hope Pregnancy Center during the Fort Hood area Enlisted Spouses Club’s Babyless Baby Shower Oct. 25 in support of the local Make a Difference Day campaign. Sgt. Eric Glassey, 4th PAD

The Fort Hood area Enlisted Spouses Club displays a small portion of their $1,000 donation to the Hope Pregnancy Center Oct 25 in support of the local Make a Difference Day campaign. Sgt. Eric Glassey, 4th PAD

More than 16,000 Fort Hood and Killeen volunteers adopted 75 nonprofit organization projects in Central Texas and contributed to the local Make a Difference Day campaign Saturday.

Make a Difference Day is a “National Day of Doing Good” created by USA Weekend Magazine in 1992 and takes place on the fourth Saturday in October each year, Kimberly Parker, the Army Volunteers Corps Coordinator at the Lane Volunteer Center on post, explained.

“Fort Hood participates by creating a community-coordinated effort and adopts as many projects as they can on and off post,” Parker said. “This will be our 19th year.”

The Fort Hood Lane Volunteer Center accepts project requests from local nonprofit organizations and consolidates them into a single list available for units to look through.

“The nonprofit organizations who we take the project requests from could be anything from veteran organizations, homeless shelters, food banks and anything on Fort Hood to include the food pantry, USO (United Services Organization) and the Red Cross,” Parker said.

Some organizations that get adopted in turn adopt other organizations in a cycle of giving and donating. Troops with 1st Cavalry Division rebuilt the Enlisted Spouses Club’s jail which they use every January to raise funds during their Bunco Night. During Bunco Night, attendees can pay to “imprison” their fellow patrons to raise funds for the Enlisted Spouses Club. The Fort Hood area Enlisted Spouses Club in turn hosts a Babyless Baby Shower, collecting donations for the Hope Pregnancy Center.

“Basically it is a baby shower with no baby,” Shannon McRae, the president of the Enlisted Spouses’ Club, said. “Every baby item we receive is donated to the Hope Pregnancy Center. It’s like a baby shower in every way. We have refreshments, baby games and we open presents. There is just no baby here or pregnant person.”

Parker explained that some units developed a partnership with their adopted organization.

“The Hope Pregnancy Center supports a lot of military spouses and active-duty Soldiers,” McRae said. “That is the reason why we adopt them every single year. It has been something we’ve been doing for 10 years. It’s a great event and the Hope Pregnancy Center appreciates it. Without our support, they might not have the baby supplies they need.”

“The Hope Pregnancy Center completely depends on donations,” Kamia Esquerra, the center director for the Hope Pregnancy Center, said. “We are supported by individuals, community organizations and churches in the area. People give monetary donations or donate to the baby store which provides to new mothers. All of our services are free to the clients. That’s where all the donations go.”

The Hope Pregnancy Center was not the only one to receive donations. The Copperas Cove Food Bank received more than 500 pounds of food from various units.

“We like to put several units on food drives,” Parker said. “Food drives need all the help they can get.”

For more information about volunteering and projects supporting nonprofit organizations contact Kimberly Parker at 287-8657 at the Lane Volunteer Center. Parker maintains the list all year long allowing nonprofit organizations that were not adopted during Make a Difference Day to receive support.