509th LRS, Clinton residents donate school supplies to Kyrgyz students

  • Published
  • By 2nd Lt. Laura E. Mills
  • 509th Logistics Readiness Squadron
WHITEMAN AIR FORCE BASE, Mo. --  "Always render more and better service than is expected of you, no matter what your task may be," -- Augustine "Og" Mandino, Bestselling Author.

Last month, Capt. Sofia Ciro, 509th Logistics Readiness Squadron, currently deployed with the 376th Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron, Manas Air Base, Kyrgyzstan, requested assistance from the 509th LRS in obtaining school supplies for a local elementary school in Marble Village.

The men and women of the 509th LRS and the citizens of Clinton, Mo., lived up to Og Mandino's philosophy and demonstrated one of the Air Force Core Values, "Excellence In All We Do," by meeting and exceeding the amount of donations requested in helping the children.

"We are very busy taking care of the mission and our deployed Airmen," said Lt. Col. Ted Williams, 376th ELRS commander. "But it is important to reach out to the community and enhance relations with the Kyrgyz people via humanitarian aid. The future leaders of this country are the children we are helping today, and by doing so, we are fostering relations with allied nations for generations to come."

According to Captain Ciro, the 120 children attending the school were in desperate need of school supplies and were literally sharing pencils because they couldn't afford to buy any. The 509th LRS and the Clinton residents collected a total 19 boxes of notebooks, erasers, pens, pencils, rulers, markers, crayons, paper, markers, scissors and glue.

"Anything they thought would assist these children in reaching their full potential in the classroom was purchased," Captain Ciro said. "These items would offer children the chance to learn important skills like writing and arithmetic and allow them the opportunity to express themselves artistically."

Two Clinton residents set the bar high by selflessly donating more than $375 in school supplies. One man, aptly named Gerald "Hap" Happy, donated $250 while second man, Bob Daugherty, purchased more than $125 worth of pencils, pens, pencil sharpeners, writing tablets and rulers.

Captain Ciro said her unit's expectations were surpassed.

"I contacted Maj. Trace Steyaert, the 509th LRS commander, the First Sergeant and the chief enlisted manager requesting assistance, they handled the rest," Captain Ciro said. "Thanks to the tremendous support from the city of Clinton and the 509th LRS, we were amazed at the amount of donations we received.

We were not only able to donate to the Marble Village school but also share a portion of the supplies with two other schools in Bishkek, one which houses 40 children with mental disabilities."

Through their efforts, the 509th LRS and the citizens of Clinton were able to touch the lives of more than 300 underprivileged children.

These actions are true examples of living out our Air Force core values of Integrity First, Service Before Self, and Excellence In All We Do. Og Mandino would be proud.