LEBANON COUNTY, Pa. — Over one thousand boxes of food leave the Salvation Army Lebanon Corps warehouse every weekday. The Lebanon Civil Air Patrol has been instrumental in helping speed things up.
Lt Col Larry Forster says, “The Civil Air Patrol has worked hard to find areas where we can contribute to something meaningful going on. And, in this case, we’ve gotten involved with the Salvation Army and their Lebanon food distribution center.”
Up until recently, kids had been stuck in their homes for months at a time. After finding out about the great need for volunteers to help assemble boxes and package food, the Civil Air Patrol offered their services.
Lt Col Forster explains, “Normally on a day we pack something like 1250 boxes and each box has four meals for two days for a family of four.”
Lieutenant Marlon Rodriguez was amazed at how quickly the group was able to work. He says what they were doing before in four hours, these kids were doing in an hour and a half. All of that, thanks to the manpower that the Civil Air Patrol was able to provide.
2d Lt Robert Grover explains, “We have 40 cadets and 27 seniors in the squadron right now, a total of 67.”
The Lieutenants at the warehouse initially didn’t know what to expect. They figured maybe two or three people, but as second Lieutenant Bob Grover says, the turn out was much more. “We’re running around 20-26 Civil Air Patrol volunteers both cadets and senior members at the Salvation Army Preparation Center," says 2d Lt Grover.
Many of the cadets involved drive hours to get to the warehouse in Lebanon because they know the meals they’re helping package and send out are helping thousands of families across South Central Pennsylvania.
Lt Col Forster says, “I think The Salvation Army works very hard in their efforts to serve the community and provide where there is a need and they do it very selflessly. We think we’re sort of similar in a sense that we try to be selfless in how we serve the community.”
As counties across Pennsylvania continue to shift from yellow to green, the Lebanon Civil Air Patrol hopes to spread their wings and help benefit more local communities.