The sports world descended on Indianapolis, Indiana this past weekend for a host of national sporting events. Fans enjoyed the NCAA Final Four game, the HBCU All Star game featuring the best college basketball players from historically Black colleges and universities, and the National Association of Basketball Coaches All-Star game.
However, outside of the competitions, there was an effort to give back. Operation Homefront, a nonprofit supporting families of service members, paired athletes with 15 Indiana military families for a shopping spree of household and children’s items. The gifts were courtesy of two iconic brands from The Hershey Company, Reese’s and Shaq-A-Licious, and were part of an annual effort to support military families during Final Four weekend.
“My wife told me about it. I had no idea about the event,” said Sergeant First Class Joe Louis Curtis Lynch III, in an interview with Military.com. “I really didn’t pay much attention to the shopping spree part. I was more interested in the basketball connection.”
Lynch and his family of five, including his wife Amber and their three children ages 13, 8 and 4, along with 14 other military families, were gifted a $500 shopping spree at a Walmart Supercenter in Greenwood, Indiana, along with a $50 gift card. Each family also received VIP tickets to last Friday's All-Star game to cheer on their new favorite players.
“I thought it was pretty cool that they incorporated the players, and that we were able to meet them and talk to them. They were so professional and so nice,” said the 45 year old Lynch. “R.J. Godfrey actually pushed our shopping carts for us. Nick Townsend, was amazing.”
Godfrey and Townsend were among several college basketball all-star players who spent time with the military families, helping them collect items during their shopping spree. Operation Homefront was also gifted $10,000 to support its mission of improving the financial, emotional and social well-being of local military families.
“We’re pretty good financially, but I will retire in three and a half years, so we’re trying to watch our money,” said Lynch. “It would’ve taken me months to save the money to buy all of these things at one time.”
Lynch says his wife Amber, picked out a wet vacuum and a Roomba. His son wanted a game for his Nintendo Switch, while his two daughters brought home Barbie dolls and accessories, and an instant camera. Lynch’s gift was a shiny new tool kit.
“Everybody chose what they wanted to get. We actually had to find more items to fully spend the gift card amount,” he said. “Some of these things were items we definitely needed. We just bought our first house, and we still need a lot so this helps.”
This is the fifth year of the Operation Homefront military family shopping event, which also featured games, basketballs, autograph signings, costumed characters, swag bags, food and other treats. Lynch says the fun activities, along with the shopping spree, left him overwhelmed.
“Everybody was so giving and helpful and hospitable,” Lynch said. “We knew this was a generous community, but the Hoosier hospitality was on full display for us. We can’t thank everyone enough.”
