Bakers needed for Airmen’s Holiday Cookie Drive on Dec. 4

Cookies of all shapes, sizes and flavors will be packaged for hungry unaccompanied and single Airmen at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base for the 19th annual Airmen’s Holiday Cookie Drive. (Skywrighter file photo)

Cookies of all shapes, sizes and flavors will be packaged for hungry unaccompanied and single Airmen at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base for the 19th annual Airmen’s Holiday Cookie Drive. (Skywrighter file photo)

Not only hungry unaccompanied Airmen at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base are hoping bakers with heart will fill them with baked goods this season, but also first responders and Marines, Army and Navy detachments assigned to the base.

The 19th annual Airmen’s Holiday Cookie Drive is Dec. 4 from 6 a.m. to noon at the USO Community Center in the Kittyhawk Area. There are additional curbside drop-off locations that day:

• Prairies Chapel, Bldg. 6568, 682 Chapel Lane, Area B, 7 to 9 a.m.

• Wright Field Fitness Center, Area B, 7 to 9 a.m.

Names of willing volunteers and cookie pledges should be emailed to Wrightpattcookies@yahoo.com. Any questions or offers to volunteer to package cookies can also be directed to this email address.

Bakers are asked to label their cookie donations if they contain “no nuts” or “no gluten” so they can be taken to a dedicated table and included in boxes for Airmen with specific allergies.

All donations should be delivered in disposable packaging.

The sweet goods are eagerly awaited by their recipients, said Staff Sgt. Jazmyn Turner, cookie drive chair. Each Airman receives one dozen cookies, handed to him or her at work by a first sergeant.

The treats are a way of connecting individuals and letting them know people are thinking about them, she said.

“It feels like you have family here – even when you’re not with your actual family. It supports the family mindset among the military members,” Turner said.

First responders from the 88th Security Forces Squadron, the Wright-Patterson Fire Department, emergency room workers at the Wright-Patterson Medical Center and flightline personnel will receive baked goods, too.

“Add us to your calendar,” Turner encouraged. “We need lots of bakers and lots of volunteers. We’re very thankful for everyone’s time and efforts to make this a successful event.”

Volunteers will gather to take delivery of the baked goods and assemble them into boxes Dec. 4. The boxes will be delivered by first sergeants by the end of the week.

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

About the Author