'Tis the season to serve those who serve

Yesterday, service men and women around the world began receiving cards from the American Red Cross Holiday Mail for Heroes campaign. The campaign is in its fourth year and was started as a way to send members of the armed forces a little piece of home while they are on base or in a military hospital.

The Fort Knox Service Center has its own way of thanking service members during the holidays through the Santa's Workshop program. The program's mission is to provide toys to military families at Fort Knox facing financial challenges this holiday season.

Beginning in October, the service center accepts applications from military families. Once a family is approved, they are invited to shop at Santa's Workshop where they can choose two brand new toys, a book and stocking stuffers for each child. Each family also receives a board game to encourage family togetherness.


This year, Santa's Workshop provided nearly 500 families with 6,500 toys and 16,000 stocking stuffers. Some of the toys given out included bicycles assembled and donated by Thornton's during the company's annual team-building humanitarian project.