Born and raised in our beautiful college town, senior marketing student, Ciara Morcomb finds herself adding more experiences to her resume as she gets closer to spring graduation. Bartending at Market Street Tap, being the vice president of fundraising for AMA, and interning for the WSU Athletic Department, Ciara wasn’t busy enough. Last fall, Ciara added another accomplishment to her resume by volunteering for the Snowball Express.
The Snowball express is a non-profit organization remembering the fallen heroes that never returned home since 9/11, as well as honoring families who’ve also made sacrifices. Snowball Express raises money year round to honor the children of the fallen military heroes, and gives them the opportunity to take part in an all expense paid vacation with other children that have gone through these losses as well. The entire trip is voluntary-run by volunteers and 99% of all profits that are raised for the organization go directly towards the children. The Snowball Express brings children ages 5-18 from not only the U.S. but around the world together for an activity filled, 4 day vacation. Each airplane used by the Snowball Express is decorated with holiday decorations and different activities to help the children bond throughout each flight. Ciara attended last year and participated in activities including, visiting the Dallas Zoo, the interactive science museum, a talent show, live music performance by The Lieutenant Dan Band, a movie showing, and a day at the rodeo. Every night, the children and their guardian go separate ways, providing them both with time to themselves. The children are provided with a center filled with games, snacks, movies, dances, and many more activities, while their guardians are able to engage in relaxing activities such as massages, free coffee and tea drinks, and are also able to bond and get to know other parents or guardians that have gone through similar experiences.
According to Ciara, the most memorable part of the entire trip was the Walk of Gratitude. Here, each child, volunteer or guardian who has lost somebody in the military is able to write a special note to their soldier and are able to the walk down the main street of the trip location, while hundreds of community members cheer the children and guardians on and thank them for their sacrifices. When the walk is finished, each person has a balloon that they let go together and are able to reach their fallen hero in the sky. “The amount of support and love that each child feels from the volunteers and community members is unexplainable” Ciara explains.
When traveling to and from the destination, the Dallas/Fort Worth police department and fire department chauffeured the 100 busses filled with Snowball Expresses members. Every highway they traveled was completely shut down, “the only other person that gets this type of escort is the President of the United States” added Ciara. As they passed every car that had stopped or been stopped, the passengers, along with other community members around the area, stood alongside the road waving at all the children and held signs and American flags in honor of the sacrifice of their fallen soldier. The overpasses were filled with people holding flags honoring the families of Snowball Express; the support shown by the community was incredibly astonishing to the children and families of Snowball Express, showing them how much respect they have for our military. There are so many donations made to make this possible, including 11 planes donated by American Airlines, and 100 coach busses and gas for the whole 4 days used to transport all the members to and from destination. Hundreds of volunteers come to the event every year and spend 5 days of their time to help honor and support these children and families to provide them with the most wonderful trip of a lifetime.
Once again this year, Ciara will join in on the journey again in December. The past five years her family has volunteered as well. Ciara explains “trying to explain in words how amazing and truly eye-opening this trip truly is, is impossible. Words can’t even begin to show the experiences, and relationships not only I, but the children of this trip have.” Children will keep in contact with one another far after the trip is over, and will come back after a year to see their Snowball Express friends again. Ciara created a team of her own to raise donations; she has raised over $500 in hopes to get a few more donations before the trip on December 12th. ‘The children of these fallen military heroes are the most inspiring, heart-felt, strong children I have ever met and I look up to them for the courage and strength they have after going through such a hard loss. As a military daughter, I understand how tough it is not seeing your mother or father for weeks, months and even years, but these children aren’t able to see their parent ever again. To be able to connect with these children, listen to their stories, and help them have a trip of a lifetime is the most self-soothing, inspirational experience that I will cherish for a lifetime”, Ciara explained. Ciara leaves the 12th of December and is gone through the 16th; if you would like to make a donation to her team, let her know! We’re proud to have such an awesome woman as a part of our campus community!
If you have additional questions, or want to make a donation yourself towards Snowball Express, please visit their website www.snowballexpress.org.