Marines

ASYMCA serves holiday hope

21 Nov 2014 | Christine Cabalo Marine Corps Base Hawaii

Filling every holiday plate is the goal of the Armed Services YMCA Kaneohe Bay’s continuing holiday food basket drive. 

Volunteers gathered canned goods and other food to provide Thanksgiving meals for struggling military families at Marine Corps Base Hawaii. The ASYMCA continues to seek donations to distribute in time for Christmas.

"Every little bit helps,” said Dannie Zboyovsky, Kaneohe Bay branch director of the ASYMCA. “Our aim is to provide families with the means to prepare an entire meal on Thanksgiving. Even (grocery store) gift cards and monetary donations will enable them to purchase the perishable items like a turkey, fresh fruits or vegetables.”

Zboyovsky said the ASYMCA is attempting to put together baskets for at least 150 families, with either non-perishable food or enough gift cards and monetary donations to craft a full holiday meal. So far, they’ve gathered more than 200 cans of food. The K-Bay branch director said one of the biggest annual donors is Headquarters Battalion, whose members will be bringing food donations to morning physical training today.

Other substantial contributors this year have also requested collection boxes from the ASYMCA to continue gathering donations for Christmas. When hearing about the drive, Crystal Brookover, the information and referral specialist at the Marine and Family Programs office, said she was excited to help.

“This project is great because you know it goes right back into the community,” she said. “You can see and feel the impacts of this and the change it brings. Sometimes when you send donations you don’t always know where it goes or how it gets utilized. This project hits close to home.”

In her job referring Marines to resources at Kaneohe Bay, Brookover said she’s seen firsthand how the ASYMCA’s programs have helped. She said she hopes others become inspired to volunteer or donate as well.

The effort to gather donations extended to Camp H.M. Smith, with members of the chapel coordinating the drive. Seaman Alexis Mummert, a religious program specialist worked with their family readiness officer, Jessica Dentel, to let others know about the drive.

“We put up fliers across the whole building and attached the information to the weekly all hands announcements,” Mummert said. “To collect all the food, we used four cases. We decorated the cases with scarecrows, fall colors and leaves. We then moved them to high traffic areas that receive a lot of visitors.”

Mummert said both service members and civilians at Camp H.M. Smith donated more than 170 pounds of non-perishable food. Most of the items were foodstuffs the ASYMCA requested: boxed potatoes, stuffing, canned yams, canned green beans, corn, canned vegetables, canned pumpkin and other items.

Although any donation is welcome, Zboyovsky said she was surprised at how they’ve received low amounts of a traditional holiday staple with turkey: cranberry sauce.

“This year we’ve only received four (cranberry sauce) cans,” she said. “We have also noticed a shortage of stuffing and gravy packets, possibly because when someone hears ‘canned food’ they are less likely to think of these types of items.”

Due to the high cost of living in Hawaii and holiday expenses, Zboyovsky said it is easy for anyone to slip into difficult financial situations at the end of the year.

“The pressure can really take its toll on young families doing it for the first time, as well as those families that need to work within a limited budget,” Zboyovsky  said. “The baskets that the ASYMCA provides to these families in need are simply to relieve some of the pressure and to ensure that all families, no matter their struggles, are able to enjoy a wonderful meal with their loved ones on these festive occasions.”









 


Marine Corps Base Hawaii