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By Guest Columnist Kim Johnson
ZEBULON - Pike County Public School System and three homeschool families of veterans at the American Legion Post 197 recently received a generous donation of school supplies from Operation Homefront, an organization that provides support to member families with school age children and assists teachers in providing supplies for their students. Bryan Richardson, Commander of American Legion Post 197, contacted representatives from area schools to receive the supplies from Brett Quinzon, a reservist with Fort Benning who helps by making deliveries of supplies.
”Operation Homefront is made possible through partnerships with Dollar Tree and WalMart,” Quinzon explained. He and his wife, Erica, have been volunteering with Family Soldier: Family Readiness since 2014, and the Quinzon family was honored as the Family of the Year for their volunteer services in April 2019. Mrs. Quinzon has recently been placed in charge of this program. She is the daughter of Tammy Gresham, who teaches at Pike County Middle School.
Commander Bryan Richardson served as the liaison between Operation Homefront and local schools. “We are trying to make a difference” by helping local veterans’ families with school supplies, Richardson explained. “We were contacted about these school supplies by the Quinzon family after a Pike County Memorial Annex Induction Ceremony in December 2018 honoring a member of Erica Quinzon’s family.”
Erica Quinzon shared, “We’re happy to help American Legion Post 197 and hope that this relationship will grow and that everyone will benefit.”
Mike Maddox, Principal of Pike County Middle School and Kim Johnson, Literacy Coach with Pike County Middle School, thank Operation Homefront and American Legion Post 197 for contributing supplies for students and teachers. “We understand the challenges that many families have in providing supplies, and we are grateful for this donation from Operation Homefront and the spirit of community demonstrated by the American Legion in reaching out to us,” Maddox stated. Johnson added, “We are thankful for the opportunity to be good stewards of school supplies intended to help those who need them most.”
Find out more about Operation Homefront at www.operationhomefront.org.