At least 156 people participated in the different recreational activities facilitated by Red Cross volunteers, Dr. Ann Earnheart, Lt. Col. Edward Camacho, Red Cross board member JD Guerrero, emergency service director JD Tenorio and students of Mount Carmel School.
Spc. Kennedy Benjamin, an Army Reservist, said the event was held on island for the first time and is part of the $20,000 grant that the U.S. Department of Defense awarded to the local chapter of the American Red Cross.
He said the program aims to support servicemembers and their families who don’t enjoy some privileges provided to military personnel in the states.
Benjamin said there are programs, services and other benefits that insular area servicemembers and their dependents don’t have full access.
That’s why the American Red Cross decided to provide services to the members of the U.S. military and their families who live in isolated areas like the CNMI, Benjamin said.
Of the $20,000 grant provided to the Red Cross, he said $6,000 was allotted for Family Fun Day.
Benjamin estimates that there are about 400 reservists in the CNMI, including the 80 members of the Echo Company deployed in the Middle East.
The number of individuals who enlist in the military, he added, has increased dramatically in the past two years.
Lawrence Buniag, whose wife is a member of 302nd Special Unit, said activities like Family Fun Day is something that families of military personnel deserve.
It helps relieve the stress of spouses, children and families who long for their loved ones currently on deployment, he said.
