PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WMBB) — Some local veterans are doing their part to make life better for area children.

The American Legion Post 393 partnered with The Crawfish Kings Friday evening for their first-ever crawfish boil and bike ride.

They hoped to raise around $2,000 for the Early Learning Coalition of Northwest Florida.

The money will go to fund reading, mental health, and inclusion programs for children up to the age of 5.

Early Learning Coalition Communications and Development Director Tami Valdez says this event will really help the kids.

“This is new for us, but we’re happy to get any support that we can get and the recognition for early learning,” Valdez said. “It’s such an important thing to make sure our children are ready to learn when they hit kindergarten and any community support we can get is wonderful.”

The groups are already planning for the second annual crawfish boil next April.