When the call went out in years past in the weeks leading up to Christmas, personnel across Arnold Air Force Base quickly leapt into action to help make the holiday season a little more joyous for scores of area children.
This year was no different.
Through the Gift Sponsor program, formerly known as the AEDC Angel Tree, members of the Arnold workforce sponsored local children and purchased gifts based on each child’s listed wants, such as action figures, dolls, games and bicycles, and needs, such as socks, coats, shirts and shoes.
150 children may not have otherwise received Christmas gifts from family members due to their financial situations and other hardships.
Photo: Heather Ricardson, left, and Sue Fletcher, center, both from the Center for Family Development in Shelbyville, are joined by other center staff and volunteers as they collect gifts purchased by Arnold Air Force Base personnel during the 2022 Arnold Engineering Development Complex Gift Sponsor toy drive, previously known as the AEDC Angel Tree, Dec. 14, 2022, at Arnold AFB, Tennessee. Members of the Arnold workforce sponsored more than 150 area children this year to provide them with gifts for Christmas. (U.S. Air Force photo by Bradley Hicks) (This image was altered by obscuring badges for security purposes.)
