Group donations to benefit local domestic abuse shelter

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Jason Schaap
  • 931st Air Refueling Group Public Affairs
MCCONNELL AIR FORCE BASE, Kan. --  Some local lives should be little bit warmer, a little bit better, thanks to donations from the 931st Air Refueling Group family.

Group members have been filling collection boxes around the unit for Harbor House, a local shelter that assists domestic violence victims. The many coats, clothes, toys and other items were scheduled for delivery Thursday.

"We've collected nearly 100 pounds of (donations) so far," Senior Master Sgt. Pam Summers said while she and Tech. Sgt. Shannan Hughes sorted through the collection Jan. 27. Both sergeants are members of the 931st Human Resource Development Council, the organization that coordinated the collection.

"Community outreach is part of HRDC's mission," Sergeant Summers said.

Collecting donated clothes and other items for this outreach project was the idea of another HRDC member, Tech. Sgt. Tanya Lange. Like Sergeant's Summers and Hughes, Lange is assigned to the 931st Military Support Flight.

She couldn't remember where the idea came from, Sergeant Lange said, but she's happy her fellow Airmen understood the importance of helping the women and children who go to Harbor House.

"They walk out of their homes in the middle of the night," she said. "They have nothing."

Paulina Hernandez is a secretary at Harbor House. Donations keep the shelter going, she said. Bed sheets, toothpaste, even car seats are among the immediate, basic needs of the family members who seek help at Harbor House.

Hernandez estimated that at least 90 percent of the items Harbor House offers are donated.

"We just don't have the funds to buy things for everybody," she said.

The 931st's donations come at a crucial time. The economy is down and so is giving.
Hernandez saw the drop when an annual, city-wide donation drive ended in December.

"There was a lot (of donations)," she said. "But it was obviously less than in 2007."

Harbor House has "provided shelter, outreach, support and compassion to victims of family violence" since 1992, according to the shelter's web site. "The shelter is staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week with caring, trained people who meet the emotional and physical needs of the women and children in crisis who call the shelter for assistance."

A group of Airmen representing the 931st family were scheduled to deliver donations to Harbor House Thursday afternoon. There were hopes the total delivery would weigh more than 100 pounds, Sergeant Summers said, after the last donations were collected.

Read More
Click here to read more about Harbor House, its services and signs of domestic abuse.
Click here to read a complete list of donation needs at Harbor House.