Cookie drive delivers holiday warmth during Alaskan winter

  • Published
  • By Compiled from staff reports
  • 354th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
EIELSON AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska --  Volunteers baked more than 5,500 cookies for the single Airmen living in the dormitories Dec. 14 during Operation Cookie Crunch at the Yukon Club.

"The importance of the cookie drive is for morale building," said Jeanette Pauer, OCC project coordinator and wife of Lt. Col. Brett Pauer, 353rd Combat Training Squadron. "Providing home-baked cookies for our single Airmen is a simple sentiment that sends a message that there is big family here at Eielson who appreciates them."

With temperatures [at times] dipping down to -30F, the harsh cold and dark environment of Interior Alaska poses some unique challenges. However, those challenges didn't prevent volunteers at Eielson Air Force Base from contributing to the project.

"The Air and Ground Equipment flight put spot heaters to blow hot air on us to keep us warm outside while collecting the cookies being dropped off," said Mrs. Pauer.

More than 20 volunteers helped make the event a success with everything from collecting cookies at the cookie drive-through drop-off to wrapping and boxing up cookies, not to forget the countless cookie-contributors who spent that extra time in their holiday season to bake cookies for the Eielson Airmen. 

Mrs. Pauer said that a couple classes from Anderson and Crawford Elementary Schools on base pitched in.

Denise Nosce's 3rd Grade class at Crawford Elementary School, spent two days making cookies as a class lesson with fractions and Sandra Bell's 2nd and 3rd grad classes at Anderson Elementary School made more than 300 Christmas cards for the volunteers to include while packaging the boxes of cookies.

"They're really awesome," said Mrs. Pauer.

At the end of the Cookie Crunch, squadron first sergeants picked up loads of the boxed cookies and dispersed them throughout the dormitories to the single Airmen.

Thanks to those volunteers and bakers, Airmen will get to taste 'good cheer' in the form of cookies this holiday season.