Volunteers bring holiday cheer to area veterans

  • Published
  • 507th Air Refueling Wing
TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Oklahoma --  For the tenth year in a row, reservists, guardsmen and civilian employees working on Tinker Air Force Base stepped up to bring holiday cheer to residents at the Veteran's Center.

Dubbed "The Angel Tree Project", the annual event has a goal of ensuring all 300 residents of the local assisted living veteran's center receive a Christmas gift.

Spear headed by the 507th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs Office, Air Force Reserve, officials estimate the event has raised nearly $90,000 in gifts during the past 10 years. "When we learned there was a need to support this, we resolved that no veteran would be forgotten and everyone there would receive a Christmas gift," said Lt. Col. Rich Curry, 507th ARW Public Affairs Officer. Center directors have stated the 507th ARW and this project is the primary gift giver for the veterans.

"Even though we joke in the office about checking our list then checking it twice, things can get a bit hectic as we approach our delivery deadline.," Curry said. "Some people like to wait until the last minute to get their gift shopping done and it seems our volunteers are no exception. Still we always get the gifts in time to deliver them for the Center's party."

This year all the Christmas presents were presented to the veterans December 20th during a party at the center. Local area and center volunteers were joined by 20 uniformed members from the Reserve and Guard to help present the presents and spend some time simply chatting with the residents.

Nationally, the VA operates more than 1,400 sites of care, including 872 ambulatory care and community-based outpatient clinics, 135 nursing homes, 45 residential rehabilitation treatment programs, 209 Veterans Centers and 108 comprehensive home-care programs.

Vet Centers are open to any veteran who served in the military in a combat theater during wartime or anywhere during a period of armed hostilities. Vet Centers also provide trauma counseling to veterans who were sexually assaulted or harassed while on active duty, and bereavement counseling to the families of service members who die on active duty. Since the first Vet Center opened, over 2 million veterans have been helped. Every year, the Vet Centers serve over 130,000 veterans and provide more than 1 million visits to veterans and family members.

Military volunteers supporting this year's Angel Tree program included the 507th Air Refueling Wing, 513th Air Control Group, 137th Air Refueling Wing (OKANG), Army Reserve and civilian employees from Tinker Air Force Base. In addition to the Angel Tree project, the 507th Air Refueling Wing teams with students from the Putnam City and Oklahoma City School systems to provide greeting cards, posters and banners from area students to decorate the center at Valentines and Veteran's Day.

"We believe honoring these veterans and their service to our country is another way in which we serve. There are approximately 24 million veterans currently alive, nearly three-quarters served during a war or an official period of conflict," Curry said. "We're all proud we have this opportunity to show them we care and honor them."