Boys from the Angeles Bahay Bata Center, Angeles City, Philippines, play a game of pool basketball with servicemembers from the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Brigade during a Christmas party at the Holiday Inn Resort, Clark Field. (Courtesy of USMC)
Okinawa-based Marines and sailors helped spread Christmas cheer to 30 10- to 14-year-olds from an all-boys center during a recent trip to Clark Field in the Philippines.
The servicemembers from the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Brigade and the Clark Field Holiday Inn Resort hosted the party for the boys from the Angeles Bahay Bata Center in Angeles City.
The event had two purposes, said Brig. Gen. Kenneth Glueck, 3rd MEB commanding general, in a Marine Corps news release: to help give the children a joyful Christmas and to help the center through donations and school supplies.
The children first swam in the resort’s pool and played volleyball and basketball.
Then the Marines, sailors and children gathered for a banquet, where the servicemembers had the chance to talk with the boys.
Sgt. Bryon Bebout,Future Operations, 3rd MEB chatted with 12-year-old Alzarando about a recent basketball tournament in which the boys took second place, and about the Christmas holiday.
“I could see that he was so respectful and appreciative,” Bebout said in the release.
“Our time together reminded me that the most important things in life, like family, are taken for granted. I realize how good I had it when I was growing up.”
After the dinner, the boys treated the Marines and sailors to a Christmas concert.
Mark Smith, center project director, said in the release it was one of the biggest events the children had ever been a part of.
“It is so important to these kids because people reached out to them,” Smith said in the release. “They let them play at a nice resort and provided a fantastic meal.
“Santa Claus even dropped by and gave each boy a present to take home. These kids are simply not accustomed to that; they are very appreciative of the little things. It doesn’t take much to put smiles on their faces, and tonight they had big smiles.”
Andrew Langston, the resort’s general manager, said his facility was more than happy to host the event.
“These little guys have nothing,” Langston said.
“When you have nothing, a little kindness makes such a difference.”
While the party may have given the children a good Christmas, Glueck suggested his Marines and sailors may have gotten the better end of the deal.
“This was a wonderful opportunity to meet with the children and spread a little Christmas cheer,” Glueck said in the release.
“I think we got more out of it than the children did. It was extremely rewarding.”
Boys from the Angeles Bahay Bata Center, Angeles City, Philippines, play a game of pool basketball with servicemembers from the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Brigade during a Christmas party at the Holiday Inn Resort, Clark Field. (Courtesy of USMC)
Santa Claus gives a present to one of the 30 boys from the Angeles Bahay Bata Center, Angeles City, Philippines, during a recent Christmas party. Marines and Sailors from the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Brigade co-sponsored the event with the Holiday Inn Resort, Clark Field. (Courtesy of USMC)
Boys from the Angeles Bahay Bata Center, Angeles City, Philippines, pose with the toys they received from the Marines and Sailors of the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Brigade after a recent Christmas party. (Courtesy of USMC)
