POCA, W.Va. — Circus members are taking a little break from their busy performance schedule to help feed veterans in need.
Crews with the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus who have been in the Capital City for a couple of weeks paired up with Mountaineer Food Bank Wednesday to pack food boxes for the Veterans Table program. It’s Mountaineer Food Bank’s initiative that provides nutritious food to veterans in West Virginia and their families.
Ringling Bros. Public Relations Manager Brandon Glass said when they were asked to help with this initiative, they didn’t hesitate to get on board. 
“It’s the season of giving, it’s the season of thinking of others, putting others before yourselves, and so when we were contacted by Mountaineer Food Bank to come out and do this food drive we really got a unanimous response of yes, we would be happy to come out and help,” Glass said. “It just means a lot to be able to give back, we’re doing this for veterans as just a way to honor their service and what they have done for us as well.”
An initial crew of about 30 circus members met at Mountaineer Food Bank’s warehouse in Poca Wednesday morning for the first shift, then another shift of about 15 members were going to volunteer Wednesday afternoon.
Donor Relations Officer with Mountaineer Food Bank Alicia Bossie said they supply around 1,400 veterans with non-perishable food items, fresh meats, produce, dairy products and pet food each month.
Because of having to meet this major quota every month, Bossie said they try to have larger groups of volunteers come in on a regular basis to help out.
“It’s a lot of work if it’s just the two folks here in the warehouse packing 1,400 boxes, so any time we can get volunteers here to help us we are very appreciative,” Bossie said.
Vanessa Burch works on the automation crew with Ringling Bros. She said it feels great to take a day out of their two-week performance schedule in Charleston to help with such a good cause like this.
“Honestly it’s incredibly rewarding to give back to a community where we get to come in to provide joy for both with our show and now to know that we get to help people in packing these boxes means a lot to me and I know the rest of the crew as well,” said Burch.
Skyler Miser is known as ‘The Human Rocket’ in the circus. She said she has roots in both being a human cannonball in the circus as well as the military as her mother and father joined the circus after serving in the U.S. Air Force.
Miser said she comes from a whole family of Air Force veterans and so helping them out in this way Wednesday truly held a special place in her heart.
“It’s really, really great to give back to the people who keep us safe, you know, it really feels like such a special experience to give to people that need it,” said Miser.
Assistant Carpenter with the circus Matt Hudson said being from South eastern Ohio, he knows the need Appalachian communities as well as veterans in the region often have and so it feels great to help them.
“It feels great, growing up near Appalachia, it’s just one of those things where, yeah, I know what it’s like out here and how I grew up and it feels nice to be able to give back,” he said. “My family is all veterans so it’s nice to give back to the veterans as well, so just really happy to be a part of this event.”
He said this food drive also came just in time to get in the spirit of giving for this holiday season.
“You know, a lot of times you want to give back in a way and show thanks, but you don’t know how, and so this is a great opportunity for us to do something very tangible, something we can actually see and take care of together,” said Hudson.
Bossie said these different groups coming in and helping veterans and people they don’t know is a wholesome thing to witness for the Mountaineer Food Bank.
“It’s just heartwarming to see folks from all of these different backgrounds and stages of life come together to pack boxes for veterans that have sacrificed so much for us, it’s just very humbling and I’m so grateful to be a part of it,” said Bossie.
Glass said it doesn’t matter if the people they are helping are complete strangers to them or not, coming together to help out in any way is a big part of what Ringling Bros. does.
“I think one of the biggest connections, especially being performers is that we’re always looking out for others whether we know them or not, when we’re doing the show of course we love what we do and they work so hard to perfect their craft, but they’re also putting on the show for thousands of people that they’ve never met before, so it’s really kind of the same service here just in a different facet,” said Glass.
The Ringling Bros. Circus will be shown at the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center for three more days this weekend.