Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Debra Richardson | Sgt. 1st Class Brian Gray with the 153rd Cavalry from Florida displays the toy he...... read more read more
CAMP BUEHRING, Kuwait - The onset of winter brings gloves and scarves, Christmas music, fruit cake, and throughout most of America, toys! But for 400 deployed men and women with Task Force 1/201 from West Virginia, shopping for toys for their young ones is far from easy. This holiday season, the stress of celebrating Christmas some 7,000 miles away from their families has plucked the cheer right out of the season.
But thanks to the creative minds of the men and women at the Camp Buehring Moral, Welfare and Recreation center, service members had the chance to win toys for their children in a one hour Christmas bingo tournament.
“Each Saturday we host a bingo tournament, where service members can win prizes,” explains Jocelyn Basilio, a recreation specialist at Buehring. “We know service members can’t buy their kids presents, so we host a Bingo tournament. If the service members win a game, they can choose a toy as their prize and can mail it back home to their loved ones for Christmas.”
The Army and Air Force Exchange Service, donates money and gifts for the highly anticipated Christmas Bingo each year.
“AAFES donates money and toys, but often times service members and their spouses back in the States donate toys to be shipped to deployed soldiers as well,” remarks Basilio. “Either way, the toys make an expansive journey from the States to Kuwait where they are given as prizes to Bingo winners and then shipped back to the States to eager boys and girls on Christmas day.”
Cpl. Marty Wills from Parson, W.Va., won a game of Bingo and chose his gift from the toy table carefully, settling on a model airplane for his 13 year old son, Corey.
“I’ve been thinking about something to send him for Christmas, something just from me, but the Post Exchange doesn’t have many selections for a 13 year old boy” remarked Wills. “I was surprised to hear about the Christmas Bingo, but I’m so glad I came, and even happier I actually won him a gift that is age appropriate and something I think he’ll really like.”
Sgt. Margaret Blake from Fairmont, W.Va., also participated in the Christmas Bingo and won a game. Blake intends to mail the gift to her four year old niece. Blake said she wasn’t planning on sending her niece a present because she couldn’t find anything for her in Kuwait but seeing as she won the present, it will be a pleasant, unexpected surprise.
So, it seems Christmas cheer has reached the far corners of the world this year, including the relieved hearts and minds of young parents and proud grandparents alike here at Camp Buehring, Kuwait. While the soldiers will be greatly missed back home, the continuation of the Christmas tradition will be a great comfort to them and their loved ones.
| Date Taken: | 12.04.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 12.20.2010 05:20 |
| Story ID: | 62309 |
| Location: | CAMP BUEHRING, KW |
| Web Views: | 43 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Christmas Bingo Spreads Christmas Cheer, by SFC Debra Richardson, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
