Operation Team Hutto members show their continued support for the U.S. military, including a group of Fort Hood soldiers currently in or soon to be deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan.

Operation Team Hutto members held a fundraising event March 27 to raise money and items for members of the 1-4 Attack Reconnaissance Battalion in Fort Hood. Members of the 1-4 ARB will be deployed to Afghanistan in either June or July. Operation Team Hutto members had the fundraiser in conjunction with the Hutto High School band carnival, said Hutto City Council member and Operation Team Hutto liaison Michael Smith.

“We want to raise awareness of our military families in our area,” Smith said. “We want to serve those who serve us. We can’t thank these guys enough. We’ve grown very attached to these guys.”

An Apache attack helicopter also flew over Hutto High School for a static display the day of the event. Col. Charles Bowery gave statistics about the helicopter such as the $1 million costs for training and use of it.

Operation Team Hutto members collected personal hygiene products and other goods for donation. These items will be shipped to Afghanistan for the soldiers to use while on tour. The list of items needed includes baby/body wipes, shower soap, toothpaste, shampoo, deodorant for men and women, women’s monthly hygiene items, hand sanitizer, eye drops, chap stick, body lotion, facial tissue, lavatory paper, books/magazines, DVD movies and games.

Through the March 27 fundraiser, Operation Team Hutto members collected more than half a large trash can full of hygiene products and $300 in monetary donations, Smith said.

District 52 Rep. Diana Maldonado spoke to the guests in attendance March 27.

In 2009, Maldonado served as the co-author for House Bill 38, to provide tuition opportunities for veterans and their families. The bill passed through the Defense and Veterans Affairs Committee but was not signed into law, said Maldonado’s communications director Jon Niven.

Operation Team Hutto began recently after the Hutto community adopted the 1-4 ARB unit in Fort Hood through the Adopt-a-Unit program, Smith said.

“Even though we are supporting the 1-4 ARB mainly we want to support all veterans and current service men and women who live in Hutto and their families,” Smith said.

For example, Operation Team Hutto members want to help out wives and mothers whose husbands have been deployed to Afghanistan by providing meals for those families and helping them with outdoor tasks such as lawn-mowing and home repair.

In the future, Smith said Operation Team Hutto members want to put a Blue Star Memorial veteran’s marker somewhere in Hutto to honor all area veterans. He wants to work in conjunction with Keep Hutto Beautiful to find a place, such as a garden area or inside a park, for this marker.

“We want to put this marker in a place in Hutto where you can go and reflect and be thankful for what we take for granted in life sometimes,” Smith said.

Operation Team Hutto members are currently working on the organization becoming an official nonprofit and receiving its 501© 3 status, said Operation Team Hutto treasurer Mary Belton.

Another project Operation Team Hutto members are working on is asking individuals and businesses to offer monetary support for military Family Day in Killeen May 27. Funding will go toward providing food and entertainment for the event, Belton said.

Operation Team Hutto members will continue to collect hygiene and other items and monetary donations until the soldiers are deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan in either June or July.

For more information about Operation Team Hutto or to donate items or money for members of the 1-4 ARB unit, contact Smith at 846-1030 or drop the items off at any Hutto ISD school.