A group of young men and women, cadets from the U.S. Air Force Academy and The Virginia Military Institute (VMI), are already hard at work this morning on the front lines of the recovery effort.
U.S. Air Force Cadets
The U.S. Air Force cadets arrived from Colorado and the VMI cadets came from Virginia. They have joined forces with Samaritan’s Purse for the next week to assist in the rebuilding efforts. Samaritan’s Purse is an evangelical Christian humanitarian aid organization that provides aid to people in physical need as a key part of Christian missionary work. 
These cadets gave up their spring break to help residents and local business owners in the Aransas-Rockport-Fulton area. Today, the groups split up and fanned out to Ingleside and Portland and several other areas. Timothy Scott Hayes from the Virginia Military Institute said, “The main reason why I came here was to give back. People are always looking for a way to give back and be a part of something bigger than yourself. That’s what it means to me to be here helping out in any way I can.”
Virginia Military Institute & U. S. Air Force Cadets
Aaliyah Lyttle from VMI said, “I like to help people and seeing the difference you can make in people’s lives. The spiritual part of this is important to me as well. It’s important to all of us to help others in their time of need.”
This is not the first time many of these young men and women have volunteered their time to give back to others. Kenyan Strickland and Carley Kunkle, also of VMI, have gone on more than a dozen mission trips out of the country to places like Haiti and Mexico, as well as numerous trips in the U.S. to offer assistance wherever needed.
Take a good look at the picture of this group, wearing bright orange t-shirts. If you see them working around Aransas County, be sure to stop and let them know how much you appreciate them. It’s great to see the younger generation selflessly giving of their time and energy to help others.
