PRINCE GEORGE COUNTY, Va. β A Prince George County couple is once again participating in Fort Lee's Adopt A Soldier Program, providing a home away from home for military members who can't make it back to their families during the holidays.
Wilbert and Janice Jones, both with military backgrounds, didn't hesitate to sign up when the Capital Region Military Alliance of Virginia helped Fort Lee reintroduce the program to the community last year. Wilbert worked Civil Service at Fort Lee, while Janice is a retired Staff Sergeant Major from the Army Reserves.
"I missed a lot of things at home, when I was in the military," Janice Jones said.
The couple adopted six soldiers last Christmas and are planning to do it again this year on December 28.
"When it was over with, they didn't want to go back," Wilbert Jones said. "We was enjoying them, they was enjoying us."
"They filled my house with laughter and with fun, and I told them to bring their gaming systems," Janice Jones said.
This holiday season, several hundred soldiers, along with some Marines, sailors and airmen, will spend their holidays on post for various reasons, including having no family to go home to or lacking resources to get home.
Command Sgt. Maj. Nickea Harris of Fort Lee Garrison Command said last year's program was a huge success.
"Last year was awesome, it was overwhelming," Harris said. "We had 69 families and 112 soldiers participate."
This year is expected to be even larger, with Harris hoping to reach 150 to 200 participants as military members are already signing up to find a host family.
"Adopting a soldier means reminding a hero far from home that they are never forgotten and never alone," Harris said.
The program has specific requirements for participating families. Host families must agree to take a minimum of two military members, and a member of the host family must pick up the soldiers from Fort Lee.
"Make them feel like they are back at home with their families, sitting around the Christmas Tree or around the dinner table, eating dinner as a family, because at that moment, that is their family that they can't get home to," Harris said.
For anyone considering participating in the program, the Jones family offers this advice:
"You're going to gain a wealth of knowledge and just see how much difference you can make in the life of a soldier in one day," Janice Jones said.
"Think about your kids and if they were away from home and they needed a family, someone to take them in," Wilbert Jones said.
The time frame for adopting a soldier this year is from December 24 to January 1. Families interested in participating should sign up as soon as possible through the Capital Region Military Alliance of Virginia website.
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