From Staff Reports
ROGERS -- On Christmas Day, Sarah Senty of Pea Ridge will be working her shift as a firefighter/emergency medical technician. Her children will open their presents without her.
Holiday helpers
Sheep Dog Impact Assistance was born with the idea of helping others and deploys to disaster areas but also builds camaraderie by encouraging wounded veterans to be active in outdoor adventures. The group is headquartered in Northwest Arkansas and has one one of its 24 chapters here. The christmas tradition began in 2009 when the organization adopted 15 children for the holidays. This year it adopted 300 children nationwide with 200 of them in Northwest Arkansas. For more information about the group’s other programs visit: sheepdogia.org
Source: Staff Report
The Christmas party hosted by Sheep Dog Impact Assistance was a little bit of a way for Senty to make up for lost time. The children got to pick gifts when Santa sent them to a table full of toys and for their dance moves.
Senty works part-time as a firefighter and part-time with the Arkansas National Guard.
Volunteers with Sheep Dog Impact Assistance set out to build memories with a Christmas party for children of veterans, police, firefighters and emergency medical technicians at McAuley Hall on Sunday.
Sheep Dog Impact Assistance is a volunteer group that provides assistance to military, police, fire and other emergency personnel and their families.
The people who serve in the military are often the same ones who come home and work as firefighters or police officers, said Lance Nutt, president and founder of the group and Marine Corps sergeant major.
"When people say let's help our veterans why aren't you saying let's help our police and first responders in the same sentence," Nutt said.
Every traffic stop carries the possibility of injury, and that has to be on the mind of the officer involved, Nutt said. A fire call might be routine, but it could be children trapped in a burning building, he said.
"Those men and women are putting their lives on the line every day in unique ways," Nutt said.
The jobs are not lucrative. A child with a sudden illness or the loss of one spouse's job can mean a tough time paying for the holidays, he said.
Senty is going through eight weeks of fire training this spring, but that means she'll have to miss work, plus she'll have to pay for the training. The holiday program will let her save to cover expenses during the class.
Any first responder or veteran family whether that person is retired or currently serving can be referred through their agency for a Thanksgiving dinner and the top three Christmas wishes of each child. Last year the group added the party.
Community on 12/23/2015