Hurlburt volunteers help local school

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Andrea Posey
  • 1st Special Operations Public Affairs
HURLBURT FIELD, Fla. --  A group of Airmen and civilians from the 1st Special Operations Logistics Readiness Squadron on Hurlburt Field volunteered to construct a playground set at Liza Jackson Preparatory School in Fort Walton Beach, Fla., Oct. 5 and 12.

A school representative approached David Smart, 1st SOLRS heavy equipment operator, about the project.

"We understand schools are financially strapped, and we wanted to give back to the children," Smart said.

The school originally planned to sell the playground set, which volunteers moved from another site on the campus. However, Ron Crawford, Liza Jackson Preparatory School athletic director, had other plans.

"I thought if we could get someone who had the know-how to put it back together, it would be a really good deal for the kids at our school," he said.

The first weekend of the project, Hurlburt volunteers measured and poured the foundations for the unit. The following weekend, they drilled the concrete and erected the set.

In total, the group logged about 200 volunteer hours.

"The build strengthened our team and gave us an outlet to do something productive as a team away from work," said Smart. "The project was reflective of our caring for the community."

On behalf of the school, Crawford said he was very thankful for the help.

"Together, the volunteers helped save the school approximately  $2,000 to $3,000 in total costs," he said.