Volunteers bring holiday spirit to Aviano Airmen

by Allyson Dinges
31st Fighter Wing Public Affairs

12/13/2013 - AVIANO AIR BASE, Italy -- On December 9, 2013, volunteers from the Aviano community gathered at the La Bella Vista club to collect, bake and sort cookies to be distributed to the dorm- dwelling Airmen of Aviano as part of the annual base cookie drive.

During this project, members of Aviano Officers and Civilians Spouses' Club, Aviano Community Enlisted Spouses, and volunteers from the base community worked together to provide holiday cheer to the Airmen separated from their families, some for the first time.

"We do this to give the airmen a little piece of home," said Kim Norman, volunteer, "These are cookies made especially for them."

Amber Krowinski, AOCSC President, and Dena Wolff, volunteer, organized and lead the event. Volunteers began collecting cookies at 7 a.m. in the LBV parking lot and were then taken inside and sorted into individual bags to be distributed.

The drive is dependent on involvement from the entire base community; volunteers within the community donate the cookies and supplies, and on the day of the drive, approx. 40 volunteers showed up to help. That evening, the 1st sergeants delivered the bags of cookies to their Airmen in the dorms.

"We could not do it without the entire community coming together," Wolff said. "The holidays can be a lonely time, especially for the Airmen away from home. Our goal is to show them they are thought about."

The goal for this year's cookie drive was for each Airman in the dorms to get a dozen cookies, and with the drive collecting a total of 10,924 cookies, they were able to do just that. The excess cookies were distributed between offices operating 24-hours, army units, Italian Airmen, and Operation Yellow Ribbon.

"This is important to the Aviano community because it boosts the moral and is a great way for the community to come together as one," Wolff said.

Cookies weren't the only gifts being delivered this year. During the drive the Red Cross and Aviano Elementary School dropped off handmade Christmas cards, which were distributed with each bag of cookies.