Operation Warm Heart

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Tenley Long
  • 100th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
RAF MILDENHALL, England – --  It’s that time of year again – the temperature is growing colder, the ground is starting to freeze and animals are getting ready for hibernation. Houses are dressed with festive lights and wreaths, and children anxiously await the first snowfall of winter. It’s also the time of year when families come together and show their love through gift-giving.

For some of those families, this season isn't so cheerful, as it can be stressful and worrisome. That’s where Operation Warm Heart comes in to help!

“Operation Warm Heart is a non-profit program run by the first sergeant council, which raises money to return back to the base community – particularly for families going through a unique hardship, or just to help support the community,” said Senior Master Sgt. Adam Wright, 100th Operations Group first sergeant. “You’ll see us do fundraising throughout the year, and all of the funds we raise stay here. We give 100 percent of the money back to the community.”

The money raised allows Operation Warm Heart to sponsor a Thanksgiving-themed basket that contains ingredients for a Thanksgiving Day meal. It’s given to families who may be in need, such as single parents, families who are junior in rank with children, or those who are just having financial difficulties. The program also funds an ‘Angel Tree’ during the Christmas holiday. Similar to Toys for Tots, the tree allows for people to donate toys and sponsor children whose parents cannot afford to buy them gifts for Christmas.

“Operation Warm Heart operates 365 days a year. On average, we raise $6,000 to $8,000 a year to assist Airmen and their families,” Wright explained. “We are seen a little more frequently during the holidays.”

Although Operation Warm Heart is primarily during the holiday season, Team Mildenhall first sergeants are always in the spirit of giving.

“We try to do ‘Random Acts of Kindness’ every other month or so,” said Master Sgt. Andrew Cosner, 95th Reconnaissance Squadron first sergeant. “We do them more often during the holidays or times when morale may be low. This month, we’ve allocated a certain amount of money, to give people $10 off their tank of gas for anyone who comes up during the random time windows.”

The first sergeants stood outside of the base shoppette, greeting drivers with $10 gift cards for gas. Although some people may have needed it, while others did not, this small act of kindness helped someone. Besides gas, the other acts of kindness include paying for people’s coffee, or offering free movies to families with children.

“One of my favorite things we’ve done for Operation Warm Heart is when we rented out the entire movie theatre and gave a free showing to a kids’ movie to a bunch of families,” Cosner explained. “Sometimes the children can’t take the loud noise or dark room of the normal theater, or the fact that everyone else is trying to watch a movie and they have to keep quiet. We simply advertised that this was going to be a child-friendly event, there was going to be noise and there was going to be children moving around. Everyone got to see a fun movie, and we had a blast doing it.”

Although the free movies, gas and coffee are small acts of kindness, they are a part of something larger. The first sergeants help numerous Airmen and families, some of whom are kept confidential. Although it may not be known throughout the community, the council gives loans and grants to those who need it.

“It’s our job as first sergeants to be well versed with what’s going on within our units. We need to be very in-touch with the officers, senior NCOs, NCOs and Airmen that we work with. When we find out about someone having a hardship or needing assistance, we try to find the appropriate agency for them to go to,” Wright added. “However, if there isn’t a particular agency to assist them or help their situation, that’s where we have the Operation Warm Heart council. The council then reviews the situation to see if there is something we can do to help.”

The impact it has on families and Airmen may not be seen firsthand, but Operation Warm Heart constantly watches out for the morale and welfare of Team Mildenhall.