Volunteers help give happy Thanksgiving to Nellis troops

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Brett Clashman
  • Nellis Public Affairs
NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. --  Team Nellis members received a special Thanksgiving gift basket through the generosity of Nellis volunteers and local charity funding.

The charity fund Operation Warmheart, a nonprofit organization managed by the Nellis First Sergeants' Council, and Tugboat Society, a Nevada nonprofit organization, teamed up to distribute 700 full Thanksgiving gift basket meals to Team Nellis members and their families.

Operation Warmheart is funded year round through donations by organizations, chapel offerings, individuals and outside sources.

"With Operation Warmheart, we provide monetary assistance to Airmen in need," said Master Sgt. Brett Evanicki, project officer of the Turkey Basket buildup. "There are many different places that Airmen can go for help, such as Air Force Aid, but they would have criteria to meet. With the first sergeants, if an Airman needs something, we will provide them with help."

The Tugboat Society is a nonprofit organization that runs charities every month to help individuals in need and has assisted Operation Warmheart and Nellis Air Force Base since 2003.

"The Tugboat Society has been great to us," Sergeant Evanicki said. "The organization has supplied financial help to Airmen in need. To give an example, an Airman had a dying family member and he couldn't afford an airline ticket home, so they helped fund it to be with his family."

"Operation Warmheart is our largest campaign all year long," said Cathy Mahan, president of the Tugboat Society. "It's the only one where we go outside of organizational donations in order to secure funding." Private organizations also provide community grants to help pay for the turkey baskets.

Nellis Airmen of all enlisted ranks volunteered the morning of Nov. 12 to help create packages, fill them with Thanksgiving meal items and deliver them to homes and work centers. More than 75 volunteers came out to help support Operation Warmheart for their fellow wingmen.

"I heard about Operation Warmheart through the first sergeant's council," said Master Sgt. Steven Hall, a volunteer and superintendent with the 22nd Intelligence Squadron. "As a supervisor and an Air Force member, we have to take care of our troops and our Airmen at all levels. With volunteer opportunities like these, from an emotional standpoint, I know that it will be a blessing to them, and that it will mean a lot to them."