Aug. 6, 2010
WASHINGTON - Every Washington, D.C., weekend is always filled with excitement. There is always a different group coming to town or an event happening in the District. Many families flock to our Nation's Capital to see historic sites and visit some of the most important monuments this country offers. Last weekend was no exception as families arrived for the annual Weekend of Remembrance. However, these families were here to remember their loved ones who were killed in the line of duty.
The 2010 Families United Weekend of Remembrance brought together over 2,000 gold-star families. Any spouse, child, sibling, parent or loved one of those who made the ultimate sacrifice for the United States is considered a member of a gold-star family. The annual Weekend of Remembrance brings together families, military officers, elected officials , wounded warriors and dignitaries to pay tribute.
Georgetown's involvement came late in the game but even with few student-athletes on campus two members of the women's tennis team were able to stop by a make a difference.
"It was very, very sad," said sophomore women's tennis player Nora Montgomery. "A lot of the kids were wearing pins with their parents' picture on it. It was very patriotic¬-there was red, white and blue everywhere."
Families United is a nonprofit organization that offers support to families of the fallen. The weekend included a Gold Star Family Dinner including a Kid's Reception, a visit to Arlington National Cemetery and the American Heroes Festival. This year also featured the launching of the National Gold Star Registry, a searchable, online database of those killed while serving in the military from World War II to the present.
Montgomery and her teammate and classmate Vicky Sekely made the short trek to the Marriott in Adams Morgan on Friday to work at the Kids Reception for children ages 1-13. They arrived with t-shirts in tow courtesy of Head Coach Gordie Ernst and the Georgetown men's and women's tennis teams.
"The Kids Reception was Olympics-themed," said Montgomery. "Each child had a card and would receive a score for each event. They also gave away prizes and raffled things off."
Sekely had an interesting take on the evening being a native of Mississaga, Ontario.
"I wasn't familiar with the group before we heard about the event but it was a good cause so we decided to volunteer," said Sekely. "There were so many kids there and they had pins with their fathers' name and picture. When you see this it doesn't matter what country you're from because it was about helping these kids."
Sekely worked check-in speaking with the parents and making sure each child had a scorecard, while Montgomery manned the long jump scoring each child on their leap. Raffle prizes included t-shirts, gifts from Animal Planet and even Build-a-Bears®. The event also included games and activities for the children while the adults attended the early portion of the dinner.
"It's sad to see kids deprived of a parent and it's nice to be able to do anything to help them and to provide and a moment where they can just have fun," said Montgomery.
When the games were all packed up, the children went to dinner and both Montgomery and Sekely went home.
"I'd love to do a lot more volunteer work, but it's hard to do a lot during the school year," said Sekely. "During the summer it's easier and I like doing this because you know you are helping people and you feel good about yourself."
Montgomery agreed.
"You feel so terrible, but you know their loved one did something good for our country and I'd do anything to pay these kids back in some small way."
