Seafarers and officers from the USNS Dahl recently sacrificed time and money to help make the holidays brighter for those less fortunate.
According to a report from the vessel (which is operated by SIU-contracted Maersk Line, Limited for the U.S. Military Sealift Command), the mariners donated $2,400 to the Guma Esperanza shelter in Saipan – a facility offering various support services primarily for victims of domestic violence and the homeless. The funds were used to buy gifts for all 72 kids at the shelter along with holiday decorations and food.
It all started with a shipboard discussion about how to spend some or all of the money that crew members had earned via a quarterly safety award. The mariners quickly decided to “do some good” and reached out to a local priest at the Kristo Rai Parish on Saipan, who told them about the shelter.
With a big assist from the ship’s agent, the crew rounded up gifts in a couple of days (versus the couple of weeks it would have taken on their own, according to the shipboard communication).
The crew initially had been surprised to learn that so many children were at the shelter. When the priest told them they could prioritize – meaning some would go without presents – the mariners immediately came through with additional donations.
As one mariner from the Dahl put it, “Sister Carol told us that she was on the verge of tears the whole time she watched us wrapping gifts, and that we should understand that we were giving to the ‘poorest of the poor’ on the island and it will absolutely make their holiday. Needless to say, it made me very proud to be part of the Dahl family.”
Seafarers aboard the Dahl during this period included Bosun Herman Reynolds, ABs Robert Cullifer, William Johnson, Michael Praslicka, John Kolodziej, and Timothy McHale, OSs Natalie Tremblay, Samuel Thatcher and Samir Beckford, QMEDs Kenneth Lockhart, Brent Morris and Scott Martin, QEE Alexander Zharkoff, Wiper Eric Martin, Steward/Baker James McLeod, Chief Cook Abraham Mills, SAs Jose Clotter and Bryan Coleman and Chief Storekeeper Roberto Castaneda.
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