Operation Warmheart provides holiday dinners for Ellsworth Airmen, families

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Zachary Hada
  • 28th Bomb Wing Public Affairs
ELLSWORTH AIR FORCE BASE, S.D. --  The culmination of more than three months of planning and preparation came to fruition Nov. 16, when volunteers teamed up to assemble more than 170 Thanksgiving meals for Airmen and their families as part of Operation Warmheart.

Operation Warmheart is a national program that provides financial grants to Air Force families coordinated by Ellsworth's First Sergeants Council. Every November the first sergeants conduct food drives at the base commissary to collect items to be included in food baskets containing items to prepare a traditional Thanksgiving meal.

Unfortunately there are families who don't have the means to cover the cost for holiday meals.

"The holidays are always a time for families to be together," said Master Sgt. Phillip Sharpe, 28th Maintenance Group first sergeant. "We want everyone to be able to celebrate the holidays with a traditional Thanksgiving dinner."

Sharpe said that through the generosity of commissary patrons and individual donors, they were able to collect enough food items for meal baskets. Each food basket contained ingredients to make a number of traditional Thanksgiving dishes including mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie, green bean casserole and a turkey or ham.

Students from the Airman Leadership School class 15-2 assisted the First Sergeants Council to assemble the food baskets.

"We're just trying to help the less fortunate and do what we can as servicemembers," said Senior Airman Jonathan Yang, 28th Operations Support Squadron airfield management technician. "I feel like if you have the ability to do something for others, you should."

Yang added that the 30 students from ALS enjoyed volunteering and working together to assemble food baskets to fellow Airmen.

"The holidays are a special time for us," Yang said. "That's why it's important to help out those who are struggling or going through difficult times."

Sharpe added that after the baskets were completed, the first sergeants would then distribute them to supervisors who would then ensure the meals made it to junior enlisted members and their families.

"Taking care of people is what we do," Sharpe said. "The holidays can be a joyous time of year but are also stressful. We do what we can to help out our fellow Airmen and show them how much we care about them and their families."