JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas –
The Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston Military & Family Readiness Center brought holiday cheer to spouses and children of deployed service members by giving them the opportunity to make gift packages for their service members during its Holiday in a Box event Nov. 12.
Holiday in a Box was hosted and put together by the JBSA-Fort Sam Houston M&FRC’s Hearts Apart team. Hearts Apart is a program that provides social activities that bring families of deployed service members together to encourage friendships and ease the strain of separation from their loved ones.
With Christmas music playing in the background, spouses and children gathered in a classroom decorated for the holidays at the JBSA-Fort Sam Houston M&FRC to create and make the gift packages, which contained gifts, pictures and cards for service members deployed overseas.
“The point of this is to have families who are separated from their service member or their loved ones due to a deployment, they’re geographically separated or on temporary duty,” said Senaida Aranda, JBSA-Fort Sam Houston M&FRC community readiness specialist.
“They can come on in here and we supply them with a flat-rate shipping box with some decorations and stocking stuffers for their loved one,” Aranda said. “We help them set it up, put it together and then they can take it home and finish it off and send it over to their loved one overseas or wherever they are stationed.”
The military spouses and children created and decorated gift packages using items provided by the JBSA-Fort Sam Houston M&FRC, including crayons, markers, coloring sheets, construction, tissue and wrapping paper and arts and crafts accessories. Gift items for the deployed service members such as toiletries, toothpaste, wipes and snacks, were also provided.
Kelly Schupp and her daughter Bristol, 4, made a gift package for her husband, Air Force Master Sgt. Travis Schupp, who is deployed. Their gift package consisted of handmade crafts and cards from the couple’s two children.
“They really care about the families and making sure we are taking the time to connect together,” said Schupp, referring to the Hearts Apart program and the Holiday in a Box event. “It just makes things easier keeping them (service member) in mind and being able to do things for the service member.”
Crystal Ortiz and her four-year-old son, Nathan, were busy preparing a gift package for her husband, Sgt. Gabriel Ortiz, who is on deployment in Honduras. The package was decorated with green construction paper and included a snack and present.
Ortiz said she appreciated the Holiday in a Box event was held in a small setting that wasn’t crowded.
“They are working one on one with us, so they’re really involved with us,” Ortiz said. “I love that they have everything for us, we just come and enjoy ourselves here.”
Linsha Wingate put together a gift package that included goodies, decorations and holiday snacks for her husband, Air Force Tech Sgt. Michael Wingate, who is deployed in Germany.
“I told him last week, ‘I’m going to come to this event,’ and build him a box,” Wingate said. “So, he’s very anxiously waiting for what surprise he gets for the holidays.”