Volunteers keep GIs fed

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Tech Sgt. Elizabeth Tschoepe, left, an airman assigned to the 52nd Equipment Maintenance Squadron, and Teri Kendrick help other volunteers put the finishing touches on snack bags for troops heading to or returning from downrange Friday at Spangdahlem’s Club Eifel. Operation Open Arms has given away more than 24,000 bags and raised more than $10,000 in donations, according to Spangdahlem Red Cross station manager Tom Smith.


Volunteers keep GIs fed
By Jennifer H. Svan, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Monday, January 12,2009

SPANGDAHLEM AIR BASE, Germany – Troops flying out of this sleepy Air Force base in southwestern Germany don’t leave hungry.

Not if Keyra Elmo and the dozens of Operation Open Arms volunteers can help it.

The Spangdahlem community has rallied behind the homegrown program to deliver bags of goodies to U.S. military members deploying from Spangdahlem or transiting through the base on their way to or from downrange.

In three years, Operation Open Arms has given away more than 24,000 bags and raised more than $10,000 in donations, according to Spangdahlem Red Cross station manager Tom Smith.

The Red Cross’s Elmo, a volunteer herself, runs the program. She ensures there’s a ready supply of snack bags and volunteers at the passenger terminal to greet any incoming or outgoing servicemembers — goodies in hand.


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=59954