Cookie Drive spreads holiday cheer across Columbus AFB

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Hannah Bean
  • 14th Flying Training Wing Public Affairs
COLUMBUS AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. --  Members of the Columbus Spouses Club sorted and bagged nearly 700 cookies Dec. 16 and then teamed up with 14th Flying Training Wing first sergeants to deliver cookies to Airmen across Columbus Air Force Base, Mississippi, Dec. 17.

“Every year, the cookie drive supports the junior enlisted Airmen here, being away from their families,” said Maryann Sharp, Chair of the Cookie Drive and a member of the CSC. “It’s a fun thing to make everyone’s holiday a little brighter.”

Preparation for the event began on Dec. 16 in the morning where volunteers from the CSC picked up donations at the BLAZE Chapel Annex to sort, bag and organize into different groups.

Donations were provided by the base populace as well as Zachary’s, Chick-fil-A, McAlister’s Deli, Sweet Peppers Deli, and Lost Pizza Co. In addition, Zachary’s provided as an off-base drop-off location for local volunteers to donate cookies for the drive.

“A lot of time and energy goes into this cookie drive,” Sharp said. “It boosts morale and shows the Airmen that people are thinking about them. I think it’s important to let them know that they’re not alone.”

Nearly 500 Christmas cards were also handmade by Sarah Shannon, a member of the CSC, and her mother for the drive.

From there, the first sergeants and other CSC volunteers delivered the cookies Dec. 17 to unaccompanied Airmen across the base.

If any Airman does not want to keep their tins from the cookie drive, they can be donated back to the CSC.