Holly Jolly Hohenfels finds renewed purpose this holiday season

Courtesy Photo | Lt. Col. Jay Bessey of the Mustang Team at Joint Multinational Readiness Center helps out with the distribution of care packages for the Holly Jolly Hohenfels event, which is organized by various groups in the Hohenfels Community. Event organizers were able to modify the event to comply with ongoing COVID-19 regulations while still delivering the annual care packages to soldiers on base.  

HOHENFELS, BAYERN, GERMANY

12.16.2020

Story by Sgt. Julian Padua 

Joint Multinational Readiness Center

HOHENFELS, Germany - Members of the Hohenfels community, students, and soldiers did their part to keep the holiday spirit alive at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center on Dec. 16 with the Holly Jolly Hohenfels event.
The event is a coordination of hte BOSS Program and JMRC Mustang team, as well as the Hohenfels Middle/High School Council.
"It's a community service project where we get a chance to get our students being involved in the community,” said Michelle Rothbauer, a Hohenfels Middle High School student council sponsor. “They are taking care of single and unaccompanied soldiers. The bigger benefit is to get our students involved in our community, to get them into a mindset of looking around to see how they can give back and to excite students to volunteer.”
Although ongoing COVID-19 social distancing measures made the Dec. 16 event a quiet one, over 50 students had been involved with the project prior to schools temporarily closing in accordance with ongoing mitigation precautions. While the students were unable to help distribute the packages this year, Rothbauer said that their enthusiasm with the event is a highlight for her year.
"This is one of the best projects I have ever worked on,” Rothbauer said. “I like the fact that I have 50 to 60 students that are excited to work on this project and to see their excitement. It is a great way to spend my time giving back to the community."
Sgt. Daniel Flores, the BOSS president, understands that it can be difficult for soldiers to not be able to see their friends and family during the holidays.
"Just being able to plan something like this and give back to the soldiers I believe is a good thing for them. It shows that the community cares. We do want to give back and want to make sure we do care about them," said Flores.
The event would not be possible without the support of the sponsor representatives and their donations. Rothbauer would like to thank the Spouses Club, Service Credit Union, Red Cross, and the Commissary for representing this year’s event. With the goodie bags all ready to be delivered, Flores and the other BOSS members will deliver the bags to all the units before block leave starts.

• Date Taken: 12.16.2020
• Date Posted: 12.22.2020 05:04
• Story ID: 385587
• Location: HOHENFELS, BAYERN, DE