Hempfield National Guard drill delivers goods to local charities

Thirty recent recruits with the Pennsylvania Army National Guard detachment in Hempfield completed a march with a mission Saturday.

Packing most of it on their backs, the young men and women delivered more than an estimated 1,200 pounds of non-perishable items to the Saint Vincent College campus in Unity for distribution to those in need.

“I was not expecting this much,” said Dan Carney, executive director of the Union Mission homeless shelter for men in Latrobe. “It’s really phenomenal,” he said, as he surveyed large plastic tubs filled to the brim with necessities including canned goods, paper products and toiletries.

He said the non-food items in particular will come in handy as the shelter looks to expand into a larger facility this summer, jumping from a bed capacity of 14 to 24. The items also will help men as they transition from the shelter to their own homes, he said.

“Hygiene and paper products are things our guys use that are always in high demand,” Carney said.

Curt Hoffman, CEO of Christian Layman Corps, said his organization will use some of the items donated by the National Guard to stock its emergency food pantry in Greensburg.

Westmoreland County’s human services staff helped make the connection among the two charitable groups and the local National Guard unit.

The National Guard members from the Hempfield Recruit Sustainment Detachment trekked about 7.5 miles, over side roads and trails, from their base to the barn at Saint Vincent’s Winnie Palmer Nature Reserve. They arrived at about noon to unload their packs and dig into some military rations.

The march was part of a community service outreach by similar National Guard units across the state, dubbed Operation Community Strike.

“We wanted to see what we can do for the community,” said Sgt. First Class Regis Thornton of the Hempfield detachment. “We hope to do it every year.”

He noted each soldier was responsible for filling a rucksack with items. With an average age of 17 to 20, many returned to their high schools to solicit donations.

“It took a lot of initiative to get the things they’re pulling out of their rucks,” Thornton said. “We have a lot of great kids in this organization.”

The march fulfilled a second purpose of physical training for the soldiers.

“For some of them it’s their first day drilling,” Thornton said. “This is a good learning experience for them. When they get back, they’re going to feel it.”

As they continue with their training, he said, the recruits will work their way up to 10 kilometer (6.2 miles) marches, he said.

Each of the charities that received the National Guard’s help, in turn, help veterans.

Carney said about 17% of his group’s clients are veterans.

Christian Layman offers a program for veterans that includes assistance with obtaining small appliances and credit toward purchases at the organization’s thrift store.

“In the future, for what you do, we’re backing you 100%,” Hoffman told the National Guard recruits.