Being thankful for helping service members during the holidays

JOINT BASE LEWIS-McCHORD, Wash. – Thanks to some special community donations, Joint Base Lewis-McChord kicked off its Holiday Assistance Program with a small ceremony at the Family Resource Center on Lewis Main Nov. 19.

“We are so thankful for the support of the community,” said Col. Kent Park, JBLM commander. “Our Holiday Assistance Program is funded 100% through donations from our community. Every holiday season, success or failure of this program depends heavily on the generosity of our community, and thus far, they have never failed to come through.”

Representatives from nearly every unit on base were on hand to take part in a ceremony where Park signed a ceremonial $50,000 check that will go toward $50 food vouchers for service members in need on JBLM for the holidays. After the ceremony, the units’ representatives met with a team from the Armed Forces Community Service to get the food vouchers to handout and receive other information on where to find support.

“Looking around, I see we have the right crowd today,” Park said. “I see chaplains, NCOs and officers – all focused on their responsibility to take care of our service members.” The Holiday Assistance Program is just one tool available for our service members. From Santa’s Castle to AER loans, there are many resources, especially during the holidays.

“One of the primary things we do is take care of our service members and take care of their families. So, I can’t think of a better group of people to get after this in terms of identifying and providing the support that they need.”

The JBLM Holiday Assistance Program is for all units on the base to identify service members who are financially in need this holiday season, said Mary Cron, the financial readiness program manager at the AFCS. According to Cron, each service member identified for assistance will receive $50 worth of food vouchers that can only be used at the commissaries on JBLM.

Those vouchers can only be used on food for human consumption, and they must be used in their entirety with no expected cash back.

“We have packets for the Navy, Marines, the Soldiers and Airmen who are on JBLM,” Cron said. “This program includes units located on JBLM and Yakima Training Center”

The vouchers are valid until Feb. 1. Cron said the funds from any unused vouchers will be recouped to be used in the future.

“Come Christmas time, we’ll have another round of vouchers to help our service members,” Cron said.

Anyone who needs assistance or knows of a service member in need may reach out to AFCS Information Services in Waller Hall at 253-967-7166.

The Holiday Assistance Program relies solely on donations. If you’d like to help by donating, visit https://jblm.armymwr.com/programs/donations. Please specify on the form the donation is intended for the Holiday Assistance Program.