Ding Dong the bells are chiming; the volunteer whistles are sounding! It’s that time of year. As the holidays trickle in, people automatically think of love, cheer and time with family. But many dorm Airmen are spending their Christmas and holiday season away from family for the first time ever. This can make the bitter North Dakota cold feel even lonelier. In order to try to combat the solitude and bring in some extra cheer, Airmen Dorm Leader (ADL), SSgt Ariel Zamora, 5th CES thought of a plan to make the December days a bit brighter for the dorm Airmen. She plans to light up the halls and main rooms of the MAFB dormitory with cheery holiday decor.

There are 13 separate dormitories on base where single Airmen reside that need holiday festive decorations. SSgt Zamora is putting out a plea to the Minot Base community for a decorating drive! She observed that many people have unused or even unopened decor laying around garages and storage units. Why not put it to use this year and donate it to the Dorm Decorating Drive instead? SSgt Zamora said they will accept almost any holiday decorations, new or gently used, as long as they are in working order. She said they would take many types of decor but she is looking specifically for lights, ornaments, wall décor, and garlands

“My intent behind this is to create a welcoming holiday environment for our dorm residence. Many of the residents are experiencing their first time away from home and/or don’t have family here to celebrate with.”
Decor donations can be dropped off at Etchberger Hall, Dorm 22, beside the Commissary, during duty hours, M-F from 0800-1600. Zamora also noted that she would accept decorations even on Decorating Days, but for planning purposes, it would be better to drop off earlier. Zamora plans to keep the decorations to use from year to year as well. Besides the need for actual decorations, the need for volunteers to help decorate the 13 dorms is a huge need as well. The days planned for decorations will run between Dec 2- Dec 6. Taking 2-3 dorm buildings each day. A sign-up has been created in order to help coordinate volunteer decorators and allow for people to know where to go.

Spouses, AD members and even older kids are encouraged to sign-up and come by to volunteer. “Volunteering is at the very core of being a human. No one has made it through life without someone else’s help.” – Heather French Henry. Helping someone else out is a great way to build character, see life perspectives more than oneself and bring joy during the giving season.

With a large amount of space to cover, the quantity of decorations in need is huge, so please take some time to go over what you won’t be needing this year and volunteer to help beautify the MAFB dorms with holiday decor. Volunteers are encouraged to bring their own hooks, extension cords, thumb tacks, or other helpful hanging equipment for use if possible.
So take some time away from your busy holiday season and give a few hours back to someone else.

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0D49AEAF29A2FDC34-53278397-dorm#/