
Governor Terry McAuliffe and volunteers from Joint Base Langley-Eustis joined The CarMax Foundation and KaBOOM! recently to fight hunger and encourage healthy, active kids during the first Feed Virginia Day of Action, an initiative of the Commonwealth Council on Bridging the Nutritional Divide and First Lady Dorothy McAuliffe. Congressman Bobby Scott, Virginia Secretary of Education Dietra Trent, Virginia Secretary of Veterans and Defense Affairs Carlos Hopkins, Commanding General for the U.S. Army Center for Initial Military Training Maj. Gen. Malcolm Frost, and executives from The CarMax Foundation and KaBOOM! also participated in the festivities to expand food access and creative play.

The event, one of over 250 across the state, took place at General Stanford Elementary School located on Fort Eustis. Volunteers and students stuffed weekend meal bags that were later discretely placed in the backpacks of students throughout Newport News who might otherwise go hungry over weekends and on school breaks.
The day continued, to the delight of 180 General Stanford students, with the unveiling of a new Imagination Playground, a collection of oversized and uniquely-shaped blue foam blocks that allows kids to engage in active, imaginative play. Donated by The CarMax Foundation, the Imagination Playground allows the military-connected students at General Stanford Elementary School to have the power to design their own course of play. Following the debut of the playground, dozens of surprised students had the opportunity to try the new equipment during a fun, interactive playdate.

The project is in partnership with The CarMax Foundation, Military Child Education Coalition, Newport News Public Schools, The Virginia Peninsula Food Bank and KaBOOM!. The CarMax Foundation is a longtime national partner with KaBOOM!, the national nonprofit dedicated to giving kids a fun childhood through great, safe places to play. The partners have been working together to make play more accessible to military families and children of veterans.