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FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. – By signing an enlistment contract, Soldiers
are already showing their dedication not only to their local
community but to their country as a whole.
However,
fulfilling the call of duty is sometimes not enough. For Sgt. 1st
Class Christopher Roberts, a food service sergeant with 3rd
Battalion, 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne), it was an
opportunity to use the skills the Army trained him to do, to better
his community.
For a little over a year, Roberts has devoted
the majority of his off-duty time volunteering for the Boys and
Girls Club of Hopkinsville and Christian County, KY.
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U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Roberts, food service
sergeant with 3rd Battalion, 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne),
talks to the children of his football team, Oct. 21, 2014. The team
he coaches is part of the Bud Hudson Youth Football League of the
Boys and Girls Club of America in Christian County, Ky. (U.S. Army
photo by Sgt. Justin A. Moeller, 5th SFG (A) Public Affairs)
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“It started with my church a little over a year ago, when
I first got involved with the Boys and Girls Club,” said
Roberts. “They said ‘we know you like to cook and like to
take care of kids, do you want to help out?' and I said
sure, and the first time I went I fell in love.”
It
was easy for him to fall in love because he was using a tool
the military ingrained in him to better the lives of
children in need.
“We have assisted the Boys and
Girls Club to be able to feed children who might not get an
evening meal,” said Mary Curlin, ministry coordinator for
All Nations House of Prayer and volunteer with the Boys &
Girls Club of Hopkinsville and Christian County. “They were
not able to provide as many meals as they wanted to when
they first started out.”
To help the Boys and Girls
Club provide the desired amount of meals, Roberts uses his
own funds to buy what cannot be provided and in doing so, it
furthers his passion for both helping and cooking.
“Cooking is my passion, it's my job, and it's nice to use
what the Army has taught me, especially when using it at the
Boys and Girls Club,” said Roberts. “There around 150
children who come here, and who can cook for that many
people? Not too many, and with me having to cook in bulk all
the time, makes it that much easier.”
It also makes
it a lot easier to work with children when you have children
of your own.
“He has young kids, he interacts well
[with these children], he is a positive role-model for the
young men who come here; they look up to him,” said Curlin.
“He has also taken on responsibilities of coaching in the
Bud Hudson Football League where a lot of the children on
his team also come to the Boys and Girls Club.”
Coaching a team takes a good amount of effort, so to help
with that Roberts turned to his Soldiers for help.
“Sgt. 1st Class Roberts is my NCOIC [noncommissioned officer
in charge] and I also coach football with him,” said Pvt.
Adrian Cortez, a food service specialist with the 5th SFG
(A). “I started coaching with him because I love football
and I love teaching these kids football. It helps make them
better, and makes me better for teaching them.”
“I
have known him for about four months and I think he is a
great person both on and off work.”
In recognition of
his outstanding impact in his community, he was nominated to
accept his battalion's jersey that will be presented during
Austin State University's Military Appreciation game, Nov.
8, 2014.
“Sgt. 1st Class Roberts has continually
volunteered his time and energy despite long work hours
running the [Oasis] Dining Facility and has never asked for
anything in return,” said 1st Sgt. Steven K. Toro, first
sergeant with the Battalion Support Company, 3rd BN, 5th SFG
(A). “He has made a significant impact in the Hopkinsville
community and selflessly gives to underprivileged children
in order to provide them with hot meals.”
“My 1st
Sgt. said that it's because of all of the things that I do
in the community,” explains Roberts. “He knows that I don't
do it for the glamour, I do it because I love it.”
“I
want to be an NCO that my Soldiers emulate,” explains
Roberts. Which is why he tries his best to live his motto:
“In all you do take pride in it, always strive for
excellence, and when you're passionate about something
follow that passion; stay true, stay humble.”
Learn more about Boys and Girls Club of Hopkinsville and Christian
County
By U.S. Army Sgt. Justin A. Moeller
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2014
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