Operation Cookie Cutter supplies deployed Vance Airmen lots of goodies

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Frank John Casciotta
  • 71st Flying Training Wing Public Affairs
VANCE AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. --  The Airman & Family Readiness Center planned to bake 2,000 cookies to send to deployed Airmen from Vance Air Force Base. Instead, due to the tremendous response of Team Vance, they ended up with 7,000.

"We had planned on sending each deployed Airman two dozen cookies, but they ended up getting four dozen each," said Staff Sgt. Amy Snyder, the NCO in charge of the A&FRC and coordinator of Operation Cookie Cutter, held Nov. 3 at the Community Chapel Activity Center on base.

On top of four dozen cookies, the deployed Airmen will receive fruit snacks, popcorn, dental hygiene kits, beef jerky and homemade cards from the students at Eisenhower Elementary School on base.

The extra cookies will be used for the Month of the Military Families event taking place Nov. 18. Families of deployed Airmen will receive care packages similar to the ones sent to their loved ones overseas.

Operation Cookie Cutter started at 8 a.m. Volunteers baked cookies, bagged them, assembled boxes and wrote out customs forms while donators poured in providing a constant supply of dough and homemade cookies.
 
It was scheduled to be a two-day event but only lasted three hours before all 45 boxes were stuffed full of goodies and shipped out.

"In previous years we struggled getting the amount of cookies we wanted," said Snyder. "We were just blown away by the amount of cookies this year."

Fifty-eight volunteers, including people who just wanted to donate, pitched in to help. Local businesses and groups in Enid also wanted to be involved in this operation and donated cookies as well.

"I think the biggest reason we were so successful this year was the efforts of (71st Force Support Squadron) Marketing and the Public Affairs Office," said Snyder. "(They) were really helpful in getting the word out to all the generous people who work at Vance.

"It was really, really successful this year, but we couldn't have done it without the help of all the volunteers and our partners in Enid," said Snyder. "Next year we will definitely have to get bigger boxes, maybe even two for each Airman, now that we know just how supportive people are."