D-M volunteers collect canned goods for Airmen in need

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Christine Griffiths
  • 355th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
DAVIS-MONTHAN AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. --  Members of D-M lent a helping hand by donating canned goods and turkeys to those families in need for the Thanksgiving holiday.

For three weekends, the Chapel Gospel Service volunteered their time to collect food items, as well as prepare boxes for U.S. Air Force active duty Airmen and families in need.

"We had some flyers made up at the commissary, and we had workers out there that volunteered their time to hand bags out and let folks know what we were doing," said Capt. Aleck Brown, Chaplain, 355th Fighter Wing Chapel. "That's when customers purchased the items, and dropped them off in the boxes as they walked out."

Two storage rooms at the base chapel were packed full of 5,500 lbs of food. Not only were there storage rooms full, but the refrigerators were also full of Thanksgiving meats. Turkey, Cornish hens, and hams were collected by the members of the congregation.

"The goal was to collect enough food for 25 families," Brown said. "But we ended up being able to assist 31 families."

The group worked with the First Sergeants to get an idea of how many boxes needed to be filled with items. Each varied based on needs and family size.

"We would like to thank the volunteers and the individuals who purchased those items, because without them, we would have not been able to be a help to the families that are benefiting from this," Brown said.