Holiday vouchers aim to brighten season on OkinawaBy Cindy Fisher, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Thursday, November 8, 2007
CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa — Some Marine Corps and Navy families here will have a more bountiful holiday season thanks to the Holiday Food Voucher Program.
The program is distributing checks for $60 to $75 — redeemable at all commissaries — to qualified families during the Thanksgiving and December holiday seasons, said Bert Corn, Personal Service Center director.
It’s a combined effort by the III Marine Expeditionary Force and Marine Corps Bases Japan and coordinated by the Personal Service Center. Funding comes from the Religious Offering Fund, unit donations and organizations such as the American Legion and local Veterans of Foreign Wars.
The program also receives strong community support, Corn said Tuesday.
“Some folks come in off the streets” to donate after hearing about it, he said. The American Engineering Corporation donates thousands of dollars each year, and in the past, local taxi companies have contributed, Corn said.
All donations go to helping families here, said Salina McBride, a center program assistant.
Rest of article at:
http://stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=50109uhc comment: Something is really wrong when programs must exist to feed our troop's families.