Fort Gordon Christmas House teamed up with Golden Harvest Food Bank for a second year to provide food and donated essential items for families of E6 and below active-duty service members.
Between Monday, Dec. 12 and Thursday, Dec. 15, the organizations served a total of 372 families and 627 children. Toys and monetary donations were contributed by over 100 individuals and 50 organizations, including Quest Church, the Warrant’s Office Association and the District 11 American Legion.
The inside of the Fort Gordon Christmas House was set up in a retail fashion so families could “shop” for the items they needed and place them in their carts. Families had their pick from shelves stacked with donated toys and books. As they exited the Christmas House, they were greeted by Golden Harvest Food Bank staff with boxes of food and turkeys to cook for the holidays.
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“The partnership between Golden Harvest and the Fort Gordon Christmas House is simply magical,” said adviser for the Fort Gordon Christmas House Naomi “Nomi” Stanton. “To be able to provide our soldiers and their families with everything needed for a very happy holiday season is priceless. From toys to a plentiful meal is absolutely beautiful. Gratitude is an understatement.”
The Fort Gordon Christmas House was originally founded in the 1960s by a group of nurses who worked on base. The group opened the house as a mission to bring joy and toys to military families by offering teddy bears to children whose parent(s) were deployed. Over the years, the house has expanded to provide all qualifying military families with toys, bicycles and now food boxes courtesy of a partnership with Golden Harvest.
The Golden Harvest Food Bank was founded in Augusta in 1982. The locally supported non-profit now provides service in multiple distribution centers in Augusta and Aiken. Since 2021, Golden Harvest has provided over 12 million meals to those in need.
According to Feeding America projections as many as 160,000 active-duty enlisted service members are facing food insecurity. In a recent survey of Feeding America’s food banks, approximately half are serving active-duty military members and their families.
More information about donating to the Fort Gordon Christmas House can be found here https://fortgordonchristmashouse.com/
