More than 25 Sailors from Training Support Center Great Lakes teamed up with volunteers at Feed My Starving Children in Libertyville, Illinois, March 30, to help prepare meals for starving children around the world.

In just two hours' time, Sailors from TSC's Petty Officer Association and Chief Petty Officer 365 worked alongside community volunteers to pack 97 boxes of food consisting of 20,952 meals, which will be enough to feed 57 children for one year.

The non-profit, which began in 1987, provides meals to children in nearly 70 countries worldwide including places like Haiti, Nicaragua, El Salvador and the Philippines.

"Last fiscal year Feed My Starving Children collectively provided 273 million meals to children in need," said Nik Bilyk, a senior team leader for FMSC. "At this site alone we get roughly 100,000 volunteers and more than 1 million annually as an organization. Our mission is to feed starving children in both body and spirit, and our volunteers are what make that effort possible."

The meals prepared by this volunteer group will ultimately end up in Djibouti and consist of textured vegetable protein, white rice, dehydrated vegetables and essential vitamins. Volunteers fill any number of stations in the facility, from measuring, weighing and hand sealing individual meals to working in the warehouse organizing the large amounts of ingredients used in the preparation process.

"The Navy volunteers who help us out are very hardworking and you can tell that they are appreciated by the others they work side-by-side with here," said Bilyk. "We get roughly 10 to 50 helpers from the Navy each week, as well as other individuals, schools, businesses and even groups for birthday parties. The diversity of our volunteer teams is truly great and we are always happy to see service members supporting the FMSC mission."

Sailors are afforded many opportunities to travel the world while deployed in support of the Navy's global mission. While port visits do offer Sailors a time to relax for a short time while deployed, they often witness some of the less than fortunate situations that people in those countries are faced with every day.

"Being all around the world and seeing some of the things some families have to endure, especially the children, in order to obtain basic needs in life was an eye opener for me," said Navy Military Training Instructor Fire Controlman 1st Class (SW) Richard Kinnison, the community outreach coordinator for the TSC POA and CPO 365. "Knowing that this food is going to these people worldwide to help them with at least the basic necessities and allowing them to focus their energy and efforts in making other aspects of their lives better gives me a huge sense of satisfaction."

Sailors from TSC have been volunteering at the FMSC Libertyville location almost since it opened its doors in late 2012.

"As Sailors we are held to a higher standard and people look to us to set the example morally, ethically and physically," said Kinnison. "Volunteering for events like this paints a very positive image for the Navy and our Sailors, and it encourages others to take charge and promote positive relationships with locals as well as our fellow human beings across the globe."

Volunteer events offer Sailors throughout the Navy a chance to build camaraderie and help their local communities as well as others around the world in need.

"Community service is important for us as Sailors because it allows us to adhere to our Navy core values outside of our day to day jobs," said Culinary Specialist 1st Class (SW/AW) Shamika Lee. "It helps build morale within the command and our CPO 365 group, but most importantly it allows us to make a difference in the world when we support causes like this."

For more news from Training Support Center, Great Lakes, visit http://www.navy.mil/.