Photo By Bradley Hicks | Tech. Sgt. Richard Griffin sees to it that a bicycle purchased by an Arnold Air Force...... read more read more
An old adage warns against judging a book by its cover.
This expression certainly applied to the nondescript garbage bags that by the morning of Dec. 6 had lined the floor and shelves of the former barber shop at Arnold Air Force Base, headquarters of Arnold Engineering Development Complex.
On the outside, the bags were nothing special. They appeared no different from the trash sacks that end up in refuse bins and dumpsters. However, the contents of these bags will help bring some Christmas cheer to numerous children throughout the area. Contained within each were toys and clothes purchased by Arnold personnel during the latest AEDC Angel Tree drive.
The call for Angel Tree sponsors went out during the weeks leading up to Christmas and, as usual, those at Arnold responded. Thanks to their efforts, the 2021 AEDC Angel Tree was, like its predecessors, a success.
“The impact is huge,” said Master Sgt. Anthony Velez, AEDC senior munitions inspector and coordinator of this year’s Angel Tree drive. “Being able to see a bright smile on a child’s face when someone is able or willing to help them out is tremendous. There’s very little that tops that smile on a child’s face.”
Each year, team members across Arnold may sponsor “angels” from a list shared with the workforce. These angels are area children who may not otherwise receive Christmas gifts from family members due to their financial situation.
The AEDC Angel Tree drive isn’t just about providing local children with toys for Christmas. Those sponsoring an angel or, in some cases, multiple angels purchase gifts based on each angel’s specified wants, such as action figures, dolls, LEGOs, Play-Doh and Nerf guns, and needs, such as socks, shoes, sweaters, coats and bedding.
“There’s a healthy mix of wants and needs, and the volunteers from my team have been more than happy to accommodate not just the needs, but also the wants as well to make sure that the children have a happy holidays with not only things they need for the day-to-day, but the things that they want to enjoy,” Velez said.
Since the late 1990s, organizers of the AEDC Angel Tree program at Arnold have worked with the Center for Family Development in Shelbyville. The base is among the businesses and organizations that receive a list from the center. When this partnership began more than two decades ago, there were around 30 children on the Angel Tree list provided to Arnold. As the number of people seeking support through the Shelbyville center has increased, so has the number of children on the list.
In 2019, personnel at Arnold provided gifts for more than 130 area children. Last year, an increased need in the community, perhaps caused by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, was no match for the generosity of the Arnold workforce. More than 200 children were sponsored during the 2020 Angel Tree drive.
Again this year more than 200 children received sponsorship from those at Arnold.
Benita Caldwell with the Center for Family Development described the relationship between the center and Arnold as “wonderful,” as a call is placed to the center each year to request an Angel Tree list ahead of Christmastime. She added center staff are very appreciative of the assistance those at Arnold provide.
“It’s amazing the support they give to the families,” she said. “We wouldn’t be able to do what we do without their support.”
Velez said many across Arnold were eager to help and take part in the 2021 drive.
“As soon as the information was starting to get out there, I had people requesting to help immediately,” he said. “A lot of people did inquire about this, so next year I will ensure that whoever is running it, whether it’s myself or not, that we’re able to get the word out sooner and be able to get folks signed up sooner.”
Sponsors were able to drop off gifts at several locations across Arnold throughout the 2021 Angel Tree drive. The majority were stored in the former barber shop ahead of Dec. 6, when representatives with the Center for Community Development visited to collect the gifts provided by Arnold personnel. Some members of Team AEDC assisted those from the center in the loading of the presents.
Velez expressed his appreciation to all who sponsored an angel and assisted with the program this year.
“I am extremely grateful to those who decided to and were willing to help out, not just with the physical aspect of carrying toys around, but also the financial aspect because, as we know, COVID has really hit all of us in some sort of fashion,” he said. “But AEDC team members really did step up and ensure that they were able to help out in any way that they could.”
Disclaimer: The Angel Tree program is a private organization which is not part of the Department of Defense or any of its components and has no governmental status.
| Date Taken: | 12.14.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 12.14.2021 12:26 |
| Story ID: | 411089 |
| Location: | ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, TN, US |
| Web Views: | 80 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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