Helping kids in need have a nice Christmas

Army Sgt. First Class Jonathan Fulton knows what it means to be a child in foster care at Christmas time. He and his younger brother were foster children in Georgia, and bounced around from house to house, not knowing if and when they would find their forever home. Fulton remembers going to a holiday party at a youth center as a young boy and seeing some Marines, dressed in uniform, dropping off toys for Toys for Tots. Those men made an indelible impact on young Jonathan. He was awestruck that perfect strangers would give of their time and resources to make so many children's holidays better. Fulton aspired to be a professional soccer player, but during high school, ran across a recruiter who planted a seed of military service in his mind. He watched as this recruiter invested in kids and served as a role model for youth. Then Sept. 11 happened and it hit him. Fulton knew he was going to be in the military. One year after graduating from high school, he enlisted. In 2003, Fulton shipped out for his first deployment. Fulton spent his first four years in the Marines. After his first contract expired, he left to pursue a career in law enforcement, but at the time, it was difficult to find a job. Fulton ran into a high school buddy who happened to be an Army recruiter. His friend encouraged him to reenlist with the Army, which Fulton did. Now he has served our country for 16 years, with five deployments to Iraq and Kuwait. Fulton now has his own passion for investing in the lives of children. In fact, he said, "Bettering the future starts with the youth." Every year, he gathers a group of soldiers and they do a "ruck marching," a loaded march that is relatively fast over a distance of six to eight miles carrying a load of 50 to 60 pounds. However, instead of military gear, they pack their backpacks with toys. This year, Fulton is hoping to fill two large Toys for Tots boxes at their office and garner participation from at least 20 of his comrades. They will march from Roseville to a yet-undetermined location (right now, Lincoln Fire Department is at the top of the list) to deliver toys for children in need. Frank Neves, a Lincoln Rotary member, is the Toys for Tots coordinator for our area, and he is working closely with Fulton to ensure that this year is a successful toy drive. Stay tuned for more information about where and when this group of soldiers will march and how you can help. Lincoln Rotary thanks Sgt. Fulton for his service and wishes him luck on his ruck march this year! If you would like to contact Fulton to help in his efforts, he can be reached at jonathan.w.fulton2.mil@mail.mil. Shanti Landon is a Rotary Club of Lincoln member. If you ever want to visit Rotary, please stop by and be our guest for lunch. We meet from noon to 1:30 p.m. Thursdays at the Woman's Club in Lincoln.