Wright-Patt’s tasty tradition continues to delight

Volunteer Melissa Gerry fills a box with cookies during the 19th annual Airmen’s Holiday Cookie Drive Dec. 4 at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. (Skywrighter photo/Amy Rollins)

Volunteer Melissa Gerry fills a box with cookies during the 19th annual Airmen’s Holiday Cookie Drive Dec. 4 at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. (Skywrighter photo/Amy Rollins)

Unaccompanied Airmen, first responders and flight line personnel at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base once again munched on holiday cookies last week, thanks to some behind-the-scenes work to put together hundreds of boxes of baked goodies.

For 19 years, the annual Airmen’s Holiday Cookie Drive for unaccompanied Airmen has been held shortly after Thanksgiving, with volunteers baking, dropping off and packaging between 20,000 and 30,000 holiday-themed and regular cookies into boxes destined for hungry – and grateful – Airmen.

The tradition, supported by some 50 volunteers, continued this year on Dec. 4 at the USO Community Center, Bldg. 1222, Kittyhawk Center.

The event is sponsored by the Wright-Patterson Officers’ Spouses’ Club, Wright-Patterson Enlisted Spouses’ Club, First Sergeants Council and United Service Organization of Central and Southern Ohio.

The cookies “have been going really well,” said Staff Sgt. Jazmyn Turner, who has been cookie chair for four years.

Planning for the drive begins each September.

“We try to get everyone taken care of, give everyone with a bit of a sweet tooth a treat before the holidays hit,” Turner said. “This starts the holidays off right.”

She and a team of volunteers assembled the boxes Dec. 4 where cookies were dropped off by bakers, who also had the option of dropping off cookies at the Prairies Chapel if that location was more convenient.

The group was hoping to get enough cookies to feed up to 1,300 Airmen, with a dozen cookies per box. First sergeants picked up the cookies the day after assembly during a breakfast sponsored by the First Command Council and delivered them to their Airmen at work by the end of the week.

“Thank you to the USO for giving us the space to do this,” Turner added. “It’s really great seeing everyone coming together to get this done.”

The wrightpattcookies@yahoo.com email address will be utilized again for making cookie pledges in 2020.

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