JOINT BASE ANACOSTIA-BOLLING, D.C. - Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling partnered this week with the U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps Henry E. Mooberry Division and Project Giveback, a D.C. based food charity, to ensure military families began the winter holiday season with joy.
Large boxes, stuffed with a week’s worth of food made up the “food baskets,” distributed to 125 National Capital Region military families.
Coast Guard Station Washington Executive Officer, Lt. Michael Bell, related, “In the current economic situation some folks find it difficult to observe the holidays as they had in the past.”
Audrey Cain, a mother and wife of a Naval Reservist, said, “Money is tight. When your spouse is gone, sometimes your income is not as high as when he is home working his normal job. The basket helps a lot. It will allow us to stay home and have dinner as a family instead of having to go to someone else’s home for dinner.”
Air Force Master Sgt. Carol E. Dorman, of Joint Base Andrews-Naval Air Facility Washington said, “A lot of families need this kind of support. It is important that we reach out to help.”
“It’s beautiful,” said Army Sgt. Tameka Payne of Ft. Meade, Md. They don’t have to worry about where they are going to get money to purchase food, having to call a friend or not call, because they are embarrassed. This is a good thing.”
Learning the baskets contained a week’s worth of food, Payne’s reaction was, “Wow! That will really make a solider happy!
Army Sgt. 1st Class Gustavo Ruiz, also of Ft. Meade, explained the baskets were going to junior enlisted Soldiers with three or more children. “This is definitely going to help them.”
For Coast Guard Personnel Service Center Command Master Chief Jack Goodhue, the basket distribution is personal. “I was a recipient back in the day. I was struggling. I received a knock at the door and there was a basket, a box of food and I really appreciated it.”
“We will combine the baskets with donations from individuals, unit food drives and donations from the religious ministries program to meet the needs of 500 junior enlisted Marines and sailors, experiencing financial hardship,” explained Rina Thomas of Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va.
Volunteering to help distribute the baskets, JBAB Air Force Senior Airman Jaclyn McDonald, said, “You never know when you might need help. It’s really cool to know that these families will be taken care of. It’s one less thing they have to worry about. It feels good to take stress away from some other family,” McDonald said.
Sea Cadet Kendall Kent of Washington, D.C., said, “It makes me feel good to give out the baskets.”