Operation Christmas Spirit
Help for Active Duty Families in Need of Assistance this Christmas
For Operation Christmas Spirit 2019, we will accept applications from ACTIVE DUTY families (those not previously assisted through this program) for Christmas assistance from November 11-13 (noon mountain time)
THE OPEN APPLICATION PROCESS FOR 2019 IS NOW CLOSED.
Merry Christmas, everyone!!!!!
Our Operation Christmas Spirit program works to spread the Spirit of Christmas and share our appreciation for the sacrifices our active duty military families make for our country. We do not view Operation Christmas Spirit as an act of charity but as an expression of gratitude and love at a time of year when the best of humanity can be seen -- Christmas.
Please use the form below to apply for assistance AFTER you have read through the instructions and details.
We respectfully ask--- Please do not apply or fill our inboxes with requests if you do not qualify as an active duty family; we are an all volunteer organization and we want to use the time we volunteer productively. It's hard for us to turn away people who don't qualify as people who dedicate our lives to serving others, but we have to if you don't qualify based on the below requirements.
How Operation Christmas Spirit works:
The application does require you to share an LES statement and give us the contact information for your chaplain, FRG leader, DRC, URC or command to verify a need. We will not consider applications without a current LES and a working .mil email address of a command representative to verify service.
To be eligible for consideration, a family must:
Once your service and need is confirmed, we will place your family on our "wait list." A "slot" on our wait list does not mean a family has been "adopted." As we are able to help families on our "wait list," we send a notification that we are able to help and a request to fill out a more in-depth wish list. We only take on more families and notify them when we know we'll be able to guarantee help. We want to make sure to do the best job possible supporting each family we do take on before taking on more!
If your family is taken off of our "wait list" as an Operation Enduring Support applicant for special assistance, Cindy will contact you with a private wish list link to fill out your wish list. The wish list will require a verified address and your permission to mail gift directly before mailing out packages OR for you to indicate you'd be willing to meet donors to receive your gifts.
Please be responsive to emails and/or wish list questions. If we notify your family we can help and don't receive a response within two days, we will put you back on our wait list and give the opportunity to another family until we hear from you again.
Please use the form below to apply for assistance AFTER you have read through the instructions and details.
We respectfully ask--- Please do not apply or fill our inboxes with requests if you do not qualify as an active duty family; we are an all volunteer organization and we want to use the time we volunteer productively. It's hard for us to turn away people who don't qualify as people who dedicate our lives to serving others, but we have to if you don't qualify based on the below requirements.
How Operation Christmas Spirit works:
- Each year Operation Help a Hero (OHH) starts by adopting 300+ military families in coordination with units we select. This year the first 300 families we're spreading the Spirit of Christmas to are based out of Camp Pendleton, 29 Palms, Miramar, Fort Sam Houston, Lackland AFB, Quantico, Fort Belvoir, Camp Lejeune, MacDill AFB, Fort Carson, Peterson AFB, Buckley AFB, and MCAS Yuma.
- We only select deploying units or units with rigorous operational tempos located in the above areas as "hubs" of our Operation Help a Hero efforts. The families chosen through this initial phase of Operation Christmas Spirit must be: active duty, nominated/vetted by their units, and local to the areas where they were nominated to pick up gifts and open them Christmas morning.
- Once all 300 families are guaranteed to be taken care of, we then start working away at our "wait list" of families in need of assistance all over the country.
The application does require you to share an LES statement and give us the contact information for your chaplain, FRG leader, DRC, URC or command to verify a need. We will not consider applications without a current LES and a working .mil email address of a command representative to verify service.
To be eligible for consideration, a family must:
- Be an ACTIVE DUTY family
- We are ONLY able to process active duty families or active duty who are CURRENTLY being medically retired due to service related injuries. Thank you for understanding these limitations our small, all volunteer organization faces while trying to help as much as we can.
- Have children (or expecting a child)
- Have a legitimate need for assistance. We have almost two decades of experience with this and know that it's the unexpected "life" events, growing families, health issues and non-military related issues that tend to create situations when you may need assistance. We believe that parents who truly feel they will not be able to provide Christmas for their children without help ARE in need of our help. No parents should have to worry about providing Christmas for their children, especially those who serve our country.
- Provide a current LES statement. Applications without an LES or current medboard documentation will be automatically deleted.
- Be able to provide an address and permission for gifts to be mailed by donors directly to you OR able to meet the donor at a location of your choosing between December 14th-18th.
- Be able to open the gifts Christmas morning as intended (travel won't keep the gifts waiting)
- WRITE A THANK YOU to the donors who blessed your family
- Be a first time recipient of help from OHH. In other words, if you have received Christmas assistance in years past, you are not eligible a second time.
Once your service and need is confirmed, we will place your family on our "wait list." A "slot" on our wait list does not mean a family has been "adopted." As we are able to help families on our "wait list," we send a notification that we are able to help and a request to fill out a more in-depth wish list. We only take on more families and notify them when we know we'll be able to guarantee help. We want to make sure to do the best job possible supporting each family we do take on before taking on more!
If your family is taken off of our "wait list" as an Operation Enduring Support applicant for special assistance, Cindy will contact you with a private wish list link to fill out your wish list. The wish list will require a verified address and your permission to mail gift directly before mailing out packages OR for you to indicate you'd be willing to meet donors to receive your gifts.
Please be responsive to emails and/or wish list questions. If we notify your family we can help and don't receive a response within two days, we will put you back on our wait list and give the opportunity to another family until we hear from you again.