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931st delivers Harbor House donations

  • Published
  • By Brannen Parrish
  • 931st ARG Public Affairs
MCCONNELL AIR FORCE BASE, Kan. --  Members of the 931st Air Refueling Group delivered donations to a Wichita women's shelter, Dec. 22.

Representatives from the 931st ARG's Human Resources Development Council provided six boxes of supplies for the Harbor House of Wichita, a non-profit organization that supports women and children victimized by domestic violence.

The 931st ARG Human Resources Development Council began collecting donations in October to ensure members could bring in donations during the November and December unit training assemblies.

This year's delivery marked the fourth consecutive year the unit's members stepped up to provide much needed support for the facility, which supports up to 150 women and children annually.

Harbor House staff and volunteers tend to see an increase in donations during the holidays.
"We receive a lot more donations this time of year -- the Christmas giving season. We tend to get a lot more stuff for the shelters and the food pantry but then those donations generally have to last us through the entire year," said Richard Tracy, a facility coordinator for Catholic Charities who processes donations for Harbor House and a food pantry operated by Catholic Charities of Wichita. "Even though it seems like a lot of stuff comes in, that might last us four or five months."

Tracy said donations have remained relatively steady despite a tough economic situation, but the number of families requiring assistance has increased. Without those donations, he said the organization's ability to provide its services would diminish.

"If we don't get the donations to support the women and children that come in there, then we have to take money from our services to buy those items," Tracy said. "On the surface it doesn't look like much but in the long-term those services decrease and that's where the impact is felt."

According to Senior Master Sgt. Pamela Summers, Superintendent of Training and Education, 931st ARG, Airmen stepped up over the past two drill weekends to provide items.

"In these tough economic times, it's inspiring to see the members of the 931st step up to help others," Summers said.