TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- The Tyndall Airman & Family Readiness Center hosted its annual Hearts Apart event Saturday, Dec. 3.
The event is held every year for families of deployed service members during the holidays. For this year’s event, guests in attendance were greeted with a “Polar Express” themed festivities from the popular children’s book by the same name.
"Our Hearts Apart parties are designed to bring families together during their spouse’s deployment," said Tech. Sgt. Kelly Turner, 325th Force Support Squadron readiness NCO. “It can be difficult being a single-parent while your spouse is deployed, so we try to relieve some of that stress by providing entertainment for dependents to enjoy."
Service members can be tasked for deployments at any given moment, leaving spouses without the complimentary support of their significant other.
"With my current position as the readiness NCO, my main focus is the families," Turner said. "I want to make sure that we always improve on these events and make each one better than the last. My choice of the ’Polar Express’ theme was to instill the concept of believing. It is always important to cherish the times you spend with your loved ones."
The event also had volunteers who assisted with food, entertainment and supervision for more than 25 families in attendance.
"This is my third year attending the Hearts Apart Christmas Party, so this type of volunteer work comes naturally to me," said Samantha Seaborn, City Church at Northside pre-school director. "Anytime we can get out into the community and show love to others is always pleasure in my heart. Several members of the church and I donate our time decorating cooking, managing audio and providing someone with the role of Santa Claus to entertain the kids."
Service members also volunteered to share in the merriment of the event.
“It brings my heart joy to see kids’ faces light up as they’re decorating cookies for this holiday season,” said Staff Sgt. Victoria Cameron, 325th Maintenance Squadron munitions operations supervisor. “As a military brat who went through constant moves from installation to installation, my father would also deploy a lot, so what better way than to give back to my Air Force community than to volunteer for the Hearts Apart and help children who are currently going through the same thing as I did as a child.”
As with every Hearts Apart event, guests in attendance were welcomed with Christmas themed décor and holiday related activities.
"I feel that this year’s event was a very big success, but with any task, there is always room for improvement," Turner said. "For next year’s event, I hope to build upon the ’Polar Express’ theme by incorporating more elements related to the story. The holidays are probably the most important when it comes to spending time with family, especially your Air Force family."