215th Army Band, Fall River Police, Fire, EMS, to participate in five-mile Rucksack March for kids at St. Vincent

FALL RIVER, MA – On Saturday, December 11th, members of the 215th Army Band, joined by members of the Fall River Police and Fire Departments, will fill their rucksacks with donated toys and clothing and will march more than five miles through the streets of Fall River to deliver Christmas cheer to the children and youth living at Saint Vincent’s Home. The five-mile Rucksack March will have members of the National Guard leaving the Armory on Dwelly Street at 8:00 a.m. in the morning.

According to First Sergeant Jeffrey Hyde, the route is as follows:

We will be stepping off from the Massachusetts Army National Guard Armory on 1089 Dwelly St.
We will be heading down East Main Street until we merge onto South Main St.
We will stay on South Main Street until it turns into North Main Street (We will take a short break once arriving at the Fall River City Hall)
We will travel along North Main Street taking a right onto President Avenue
We will travel up President Avenue and take a left onto Highland Avenue
We will travel on Highland Avenue until we arrive at the St Vincent DePaul Services at 2425 Highland Avenue.

This Christmas, more than 100 children and youth, ages 18 months to 21 years, separated from their families for various reasons, will wake up on Christmas morning… at Saint Vincent’s. The hope is to have brightly wrapped packages, boxes, and bags under the tree for each child. Saint Vincent’s is working to make the Christmas holiday as festive as possible for all of these children and it will only happen with the generosity of individuals and groups such as 215th Army Band.

If you see them, stop, thank them, and send them off with an encouraging word!

The 215th Army Band of the Massachusetts National Guard, the 2nd oldest band in the United States Army, is commanded by CW3 Stephen Martins and Hyde, both from Somerset, MA. The 215th has been an international music ambassador for the Commonwealth on numerous occasions. In 1986 the Band performed for President Reagan during the Presidential Summit with the Soviet Union in Iceland. In 1995, the Band traveled to the Netherlands to help commemorate the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II. The Band has also completed successful goodwill tours of the countries of Greece and Jamaica. The Band has performed successful active duty backfill missions in Heidelberg, Germany, Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland, Fairbanks Alaska, Fort Gordon Georgia and on three separate occasions at Fore Monroe, Virginia.