FORT WORTH -- News of a helicopter crash that killed 17 Navy SEALs last year in Afghanistan saddened students and administrators at Children's Lighthouse Learning Centers.
Finding out that those fallen SEALs left behind 26 children upset them even more.The 1,600 Lighthouse students around Dallas-Fort Worth have made it their mission to help those families through a project they hope will spread to learning centers nationwide.Students donated money raised at their centers' fall festivals to the Navy SEAL Foundation, which supports families of fallen SEALs. The eight Lighthouse centers in North Texas raised $3,000.The amount might sound modest, but every dollar does some good; moreover, teaching the children about the sacrifices made by the military increases the effort's value, said Rose Morelock, a Lighthouse vice president of operations.Next year's goal is $10,000, she said."Hearing that those brave Navy SEALs left behind so many children just broke our hearts," Morelock said. "We've spent time talking about how people who serve in the military are heroes and how we can do our part to support them."Children's Lighthouse Learning Centers serve children ages 6 months to 12 years. The company, a national franchise of educational child-care centers, has 21 in six states, including centers in Arlington, Keller, Saginaw and Grand Prairie.Every fall, each center hosts a festival with costumes, face-painting, games and silent auctions.The project was greeted with enthusiasm at the Lighthouse center in south Fort Worth. Some of the children at the center have parents who work at Naval Air Station Fort Worth and are familiar with the military, Morelock said.As part of the project, the local centers are creating a one-month military curriculum for summer. Obviously, the older children better understand the military's role, but even the youngsters seem to get the idea, she said."I know they protect us," 5-year-old kindergartner Jeffrey Fobbs said Thursday when asked what Navy SEALs are.Morelock said she has always admired military personnel. Her son served in the Navy, and she read the book by Marcus Luttrell, a Texas native and Navy SEAL who was the lone survivor of a mission in Afghanistan.So she reached out to the Navy SEAL Foundation, which helps the families of SEALs maintain a sense of normalcy during training and operational deployments, which have become longer and more common.There are about 2,500 active SEALs, according to the Navy. They take on the riskiest of missions, such as the killing of Osama bin Laden during a nighttime raid in Pakistan.The foundation also offers grief counseling, mortgage relief, home repairs and other services to the families of fallen SEALs, said Robin King, chief financial officer for the foundation.Morelock said she hopes that fundraising will increase and that maybe someone connected to the SEALs will visit a learning center. SEALs are notably private, but perhaps a retired member would come, she said."The kids love learning about them," she said. "And they'd really love to meet one someday."Alex Branch, 817-390-7689, Twitter: @albranch1
