TAMPA, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Rowdies kicked off their first week of service event Monday in honor of Military Appreciation Month.
“We’re just packing some goodie bags for our military,” Rowdies midfielder Nick Moon said.
Moon and other members of the Rowdies organization are packing 100 care packages for active service men and women overseas.
“You look in those boxes and to us it’s such little things,” Moon said. "To us, we don’t think twice about a toothbrush. It’s something so simple that can really help boost your day. Some stuff you think is nothing really helps them a ton.”
WATCH: Rowdies pack care packages for military service members
The post-practice packing party partners with Operation: Military Matters, a non-profit created by 19-year-old Graci Tubbs ten years ago.
“When I was nine years old in 4th grade, there was a service learning project assigned to us,” Tubbs said. “The veterans came to our school and told us they didn’t feel appreciated while they were overseas for Veterans Day. So, I decided to go around my house and collect little toiletries and send it overseas.”
Since then, the non-profit has sent over 13,000 care packages and collected over $600,000 for the military, raising morale one box at a time.
“It’s something that brings us together, it’s super simple and it’s fun,” Moon said. "Everyone is having a good time and smiling. It’s little for us to do, but it’s going to go a long way.”
The Rowdies will host two more community events to serve our veterans and active service members this week.
On May 7, the Rowdies and the U.S. Coast Guard are partnering with Feeding Tampa Bay to host a Food Distribution site at the Frank Pierce Recreation Center in South St. Petersburg. Families can drive by the site and receive free groceries.
Then, on May 9, they will participate in the Homeless Empowerment Program’s Celebrity Chef initiative, where individuals from the Rowdies organization will serve a meal to individuals in need.
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