2020--- What a year for Fort Bragg. Never in a thousand years would I expect life to be the way it has. Our first event was at a local Fort Bragg housing community room. Our generous volunteers baked dozens of homemade cupcakes, cinnamon rolls, and cookies. We awaited families to join in for sweets and conversation. Time flew and it in turned into volunteers chatting about Keto and kiddos. We were left with dozen upon dozen of sweets. What do we do, drop them off to the guys, of course! If only we can go back to that cool winter day.
We go back a little before 2020. That’s what set the tempo for our team. We were excited and eager to serve our community.
Little did we know some of our Soldiers were going to begin 2020 with the most significant no notice deployment in more than 30 years. I can’t even begin to describe the emotions our town began to feel. It was our time as a nonprofit to get out and support our families who needed extra love. Our very own Executive Director, Sabrina Johannes put the word out that we were here ready to help, via news station outlets and social media.
The rapid deployment was huge. However, we can’t forget about the various units already deployed or gearing up for deployment. Bragg families had a good share of saying “see ya later” to loved ones.
We received a generous donation in February. Our team hosted the sweetest playdate at Mega Play. It was wonderful knowing just for one night our families can smile and play. You were able to see the relaxed atmosphere of mamas and kiddos as they decorated cookies.
We had high hopes to offer our families Patriotic Minis in the spring. That will be on the agenda for the upcoming year. Fingers crossed!
We continued to reach out to FRG’s and our community with ways we could reach out and support. Even with a pandemic Fort Bragg never skipped a beat. Though we couldn’t physically meet, we offered support via social media with Deployed Love- Hearts Connected.
In September we joined Tiny Troops Soccer and offered a complimentary day of play for our littlest athletes.
Halloween may have looked a little different this year. Don’t fret, the Fort Bragg team hosted a Hallows Eve Playdate with costumes and treats. Outdoors of course!
In the meantime we never stopped planning and preparing for the main event, Holiday Minis. Despite the hiccups that came…it happened! We are grateful for all the hands we had on deck to make it successful. It was beautiful.
As the year comes to an end we were able to host our first food drive. We donated to the AYMCA food pantry on post with hopes to provide families food over the holiday season.
This year was worth every hiccup, late night group chat, and multiple coordinator meetings to make this a successful year for our families. We never stopped being passionate about serving our fellow military families. After all, the families we serve are managing a deployment and pandemic. They are our heroes!
A million thanks to those who have donated money, personal time, or talent to make this all possible.
All our love,
Deployed Love Fort Bragg
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