KSC needs cookies, volunteers for annual drive

  • Published
  • By Ryan Stark
  • Nucleus writer
KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. --  The annual Kirtland Spouses' Club holiday cookie drive is ramping up for 2015, seeking volunteers and cookie donations.

Last year over 9,200 cookies were donated for more than 500 on-base Airmen. The number of Airmen this year is around 525, according to KSC's vice president for events, Rie Ann Chavez Gettings.

She said she also hopes to get a record number of cookies donated.

"We want to get as many as possible," she said, "enough so that each Airman can get a good-sized package."

As the wife of an Army officer assigned to Kirtland's Defense Threat Reduction Agency, Gettings said she feels sympathy for young service members.

"They're so young," she said. "Not everyone can afford to travel home for the holidays, and this is the best thing we can do to tell them that, even if they aren't home, you're home with us at Kirtland."

The cookie drive takes place Dec. 14-15 at the Mountain View Club. Donated cookies can be dropped off between 4 and 7 p.m. on the 14th, and 6 a.m. and 3 p.m. on
the 15th. The club is also seeking donations of small holiday-themed plastic treat bags.

It's on the 15th that volunteers are needed to sort and assemble treat bags. Gettings said 10 KSC board members have volunteered so far, but the effort needs many more.

"We need a lot of hands," she said. "You can put in as little as half an hour; you can come by early on your way to work. They can be civilians. People with children, too."
Anyone interested in volunteering is asked to sign up at www.vols.pt/sUxQzd.

The spouses' club is also holding a holiday bazaar on Saturday at the Mountain View Club. Gettings said around 20 vendors with a variety of offerings have committed to come. For more about the Kirtland Spouses' Club, visit www.kirtlandsc.org.