Christmas has come and gone and we’re rolling into a fresh new year. My favorite thing to do between Christmas and ringing in the new year is to reflect, and currently my focus is on my first Christmas spent here at Fort Liberty. Thanks to all the tireless efforts by the many who worked hard to make the holidays magical, my belief in Santa has been restored — not in the traditional jolly man who travels from the North Pole to drop in and deliver presents to the boys and girls earning a place on the nice list, but in his spirit.
Many families, especially military families, are experiencing financial insecurity, and it’s incredibly difficult to provide a magical Christmas to your family while under extreme financial pressure. While Christmas is about more than gifts under the tree, when you have children at home it is impossible not to criticize yourself when you are not capable of giving your children all you wish you could. And this year I learned that Santa is real, and he has many faces.
Emily Hardy, a family support coordinator for the ASYMCA (Armed Services YMCA), has been responsible for running the annual Holiday Hooah for Fort Liberty families for two years. Emily starts planning in September working with various organizations to gather toys, new and unwrapped. Soldiers also have opportunities to support the program by rucking a toy to the building or to volunteer during the event. The wildly successful event allowed families to shop for their children between Dec. 12 and 15 with the help of volunteers who ensured tables remained stocked with wonderful gifts for all ages and aided families with completing their shopping.
With careful planning and excellent implementation, the toys were organized for easy shopping and nothing was left out. United Through Reading provided a book upon entry, and once toys were selected, families were able to choose stocking stuffers for each child. When asked about how she felt about the event’s success, Emily humbly explained, “I had a goal of serving 500 children ages 0-18 this year and I was able to surpass that goal.”
Emily’s hard work and dedication has certainly paid off as the “Holiday Hooah” is estimated to have served over 630 military children, and two of those children are my own. If you are not following the ASYMCA, I encourage you to start as the Holiday Hooah was one of many excellent programs they have supporting military families.
The Fort Liberty Spouses Club worked hard to ensure Christmas was full of magic for families by volunteering at four different gift-wrapping opportunities with the PX, helping to collect toy donations for the Holiday Hooah, participating in Wreaths Across America, and by providing an opportunity for children to visit with Santa and take home a special treat.
My children were not able to participate in this particular event as my husband put on the special red suit and was ever so grateful for the opportunity to spread some holiday cheer, but thankfully there was no shortage of Santa in our community, and they were able to visit with jolly old Saint Nick quite a few times. This organization is comprised of some of the kindest, hardest-working people I’ve had the pleasure of meeting and having the opportunity to give back to the community during this time of the year made it one of the most memorable. I recommend you keep the Fort Liberty Spouses Club on your radar as its mission, providing welfare and scholarship grants, will be in full force in the coming months.
In case you missed it, CityView provided military families holiday cheer with free face painting, treats, gifts, and pictures with Santa. CityView is no stranger to supporting military families, and I couldn’t be more appreciative to have found such a wonderful group of people to surround myself with during the holidays. As always, be sure to remain connected and follow CityView as they work hard to bring you all the information you need to know in one place, and to keep you informed about Fort Liberty and surrounding areas. It’s my No. 1 go-to since my arrival!
Families across the Fort Liberty area offered their support to families who needed it to get through the holidays in almost every Facebook group I am in and all that I can say is Christmas just felt a whole lot merrier this year.
Santa doesn’t always have a beard, a soft red suit, and a sleigh, but don’t let anyone tell you Santa isn’t real. He lives in all those out there doing all they can to make sure Christmas is magical.
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Jaylin Kremer and her husband are natives of Pittsburgh. She is studying psychology and plans to go to law school and works as an advocate for mental health and victims of sexual violence. Jaylin is a member of the Fort Liberty school board and first vice president of the Fort Liberty Spouses Club. She believes that small acts of kindness go a long way.
Editor's note: As part of CityView's commitment to filling gaps by providing reporting and information for the Fort Liberty community, our HomeFront initiative has two columnists who will write regularly about issues military families face. If there's a topic you'd like for our columnists to address, let us know at talk@cityviewnc.com.
