Dorm dwellers receive early holiday gift, 'baked with love, care' Published Dec. 2, 2011 By Kate Blais 95th Air Base Wing Public Affairs EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Unaccompanied Airmen in the dorms got an early holiday gift, Dec. 1, when first sergeants hand delivered cookies to each room as part of the Dorm Dwellers Cookie Drop. The annual event is sponsored by the Airman and Family Readiness Center and made possible by volunteers from Team Edwards. Volunteers from both on- and off-base sent in homemade holiday cookies to be distributed. "Leadership, spouses, active duty members, the whole base populace is coming together for these Airmen," said Master Sgt. Yvonne Santos, 95th Force Support Squadron acting first sergeant. A portion of the Airman and Family Readiness Center resembled a small cookie packaging operation, as volunteers spent their morning organizing cookies, placing them on platters, covering them with plastic wrap and tying each with a ribbon. "It's like a taste of home," said Linda Crump, Airman and Family Readiness deployment specialist and Cookie Drop point of contact. "The cookies are baked with love and care, the donations are made with love and care, and we want them to know that they're really appreciated." After each platter of twelve cookies was assembled and packaged, each first sergeant reported to the AFRC, took enough cookies for their unit and then hand delivered them to each Airman, either at their work place or in the dormitories. Airman 1st Class Quanisha Gaines, 95th Mission Support Group knowledge operations manager, appreciated the unexpected visit from her first shirt. "It makes me feel special to know that people are thinking about young Airmen," she said. "This is very thoughtful." Hand-delivered holiday cookies were a perfect welcome gift for Airman 1st Class Lyndell Brooks, 95th Force Support Squadron. "It's my first day," smiled Brooks. "This makes me feel more welcome." Whether the cookies made Airmen feel special or welcome, they were all baked and donated for one reason. "We care about them, and care about what they're doing," said Santos. "We just want them to have a little piece of home and that they're not by themselves during the holidays. Especially here at Edwards, we're kind of in a remote location and things like this mean a lot." There has been an overwhelming appreciation and response to our Dorm Dwellers Cookie Drop," said Crump. "And that's what we want to see at Edwards Air Force Base, because these guys really deserve that."