MOOSIC, LACKAWANNA COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — Local radio station, Froggy 101, teamed up with a veteran’s organization and a non-profit this week to give back to those who serve our country.
Country music in the air and a military truck filled to the brim with donated goods mean one thing Froggy101 is giving back this holiday season.
“Coming from a veteran family, I mean a lot of my friends are veterans. It just warms your heart to see. especially in hard times, people have no qualms about coming out and just giving to those who gave the ultimate sacrifice,” explained Crockett from Froggy 101.
The radio station teamed up with Valhalla Veterans Services and Bread Basket of NEPA for their “Thanks for Giving Food Drive” a two-day event to collect food for our veterans.
The goal is to help feed those who served our country and to remind them how important their sacrifices are.
“Sometimes you might come home from a warzone or something and you lose touch with your friends and sometimes you feel isolated from your community. This shows us that our community cares for us,” explained Robert Kerecman the President of Valhalla Veterans Services.
Grab bags were $20 a piece and were filled with enough food to feed a family of six.
The generosity of the community overflowed the truck and exceeded all expectations.
“We were expecting a certain amount, like we have this big truck back there and we thought okay, maybe in the course of two days we might be able to fill that. it turns out we filled it in one day, dropped a few more things over at Valhalla and it’s almost full again,” added Doc from Froggy 101.
“It got to the point where Shoprite yesterday, they ran out of baskets within the first five hours and they said we’re just gonna send the rest directly to Valhalla,” continued Crockett.
Many even went beyond the pre-packaged bags, donating carts full of groceries and cash.
“To watch people come up, whip 20 bucks out of their pocket like it’s nothing, I don’t even know how to express how that makes me feel as a veteran,” says Eric Darling the executive director of Valhalla Veterans Services.
When the two-day drive came to a close, the only thing more full than the trunk was the hearts of those who saw first-hand how northeast PA supports their veterans.
“It’s amazing to see how many veterans came out to donate to veterans and how many people who have veterans in their family have come out,” said Doc.
The crews working the food drive hope to team up every year to continue this event.
For more information on Valhalla Veterans Services and how to help or get involved visit there website.
