The Rutherford County Young Marine Unit had 4 Young Marines earn the Presidential Volunteer Service Award for 2018.
The Young Marine program encourages community service. Community Service helps with the young marines personal growth, self esteem and self confidence. It helps the young marines to become responsible citizens and teaches them to give back to their community.
The Presidential Volunteer Service Awards are issued for community service hours served within a 12-month time period. The awards are offered in multiple levels; bronze, silver, and gold.
YM PFC Eloy Caban (age 12) earned silver with 82 hours; YM PFC Shayla Skalnik (age 11) earned gold with 101.95 hours. YM SSgt Cameron Robinson, age 16, earned gold with 210.50 hours. YM MSgt Kyle Spivey, age 17 earned gold with 264 hours.
Caban and Skalnik earned their hours volunteering at PAWS, the boy scouts and doing trash pick up for the city of Smyrna. Skalnik also volunteered with Feed the Children and cemetery cleaning at Stones River National Park.
Spivey & Robinson earned their hours prepping food to feed low income families/veterans/ elderly, serving food to the needy at community nights, packing boxes at the food bank, cemetery cleanup and trash pickup. They also earned hours on two Young Marine national trips. One trip was to the Navajo Reservation for Navajo Code Talkers Day, where they cleaned graffiti off Window Rock and helped clean up the zoo on the reservation. The other trip was to Hawaii for National Pearl Harbor Remembrance day where they did beach clean up on the Marine Base. Spivey also cleaned at a local church and Robinson is a juror on the Wilson County Teen Court Program.
“Community service can be fun, even when you are working hard. You get to meet new people and know that you are helping out and giving back to your community” YM SSgt Cameron Robinson
The Young Marine program is a national non-profit 501c (3) youth education and service program for boys and girls, age eight through the completion of high school. The Young Marines promotes the mental, moral and physical development of its members. The program focuses on teaching the values of leadership, teamwork and self-discipline so its members can live and promote a healthy, drug-free lifestyle.
