Big Give 2010 ends, rewards to last a lifetime

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Sondra Escutia
  • 49th Wing Public Affairs
HOLLOMAN AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. --  In 21 days, 94 people made up nine teams and spent 2,240 hours working with the "inside outside upside down" concept to give in order to gain during Holloman's 2010 Big Give.

It has saved Alamogordo an estimated $90,475, but even the numbers do not measure up to the life-changing impacts on the lives that were touched by it.

"It's always hard to measure what kind of impact Big Give has on a community," said Amanda Gallagher, 49th Force Support Squadron Marketing Director and Big Give creator. "How do you measure the value of someone getting to move into their home after three years? Or that a park is now safe for children? How do you show that the VFW will, for years to come, have a professional office to work from? Or that a woman can make it to see her husband in the hospital because someone filled up her tank with gas?"

The rewards for each team's work came in different forms among each person, but during the Big Give After Party Aug. 6, a few teams took home a monetary prize.

Meansteam, a Big Give team comprised of fifteen 49th Civil Engineer Squadron members, won the large team grand prize of $7,500 sponsored by Desert Sun Motors of Alamogordo.

The team members used their expertise to re-roof the Father B. Hay Preschool in Alamogordo to allow teachers to hold classes in the rooms without water leaking on the children. They also did a large-scale renovation of the Veterans' of Foreign Wars office by installing new windows, a new floor and a new roof.

Master Sgt. Michael Means, the team leader for Meansteam, said they plan to put the money they won into the squadron's booster club and that the idea to form a team, for them, was about helping out in the local community.

"The best part about the Big Give was the feeling of accomplishment of the team," said Sergeant Means.

The winner for the small team category was the We Kare 4 Kid's Kingdom team, who took home $2,500 for their major clean-up project of the children's recreational park, Kid's Kingdom. For the duration of the Big Give, the team sanded and repainted the playground and picnic tables, filled in holes, re-layed tiles and cinder block caps, and moved 35 tons of mulch.

"The best part [about the project] was keeping Kid's Kingdom going," said Patti Ren, 49th Contracting Squadron and team member of We Kare 4 Kid's Kingdom. "It costs the city over $6,000 a year to maintain it so by us doing this we hope it will be open longer and that we've got the community aware ... It's a place for our kids to get out in the sun, get more vitamin D, play and exercise."

In addition to the grand prize winnings, Team We Kare 4 Kid's Kingdom also took the People's Choice Award for the small teams, sponsored by Otero Federal Credit Union and Baja Broadband. The large team People's Choice Award winner, which was determined by the number of votes texted in and submitted at the After Party, was Team Housebusters.

Housebusters' main project involved making a house once again habitable for a local woman, Grandma Honey, whose home was badly damaged in a fire almost three years ago.

"She only got $20,000 for the insurance and she tried to fight to get more out of the insurance," explained Housebusters team leader, Master Sgt. Bobby Granados, 49th CES. "Half of that went to the lawyer that tried to fight it and what she had left, she had a contractor come in. He only did half the work and it still wasn't livable."

He said the house was left with no outlets, no electrical, no flooring and no shower when Housebusters came in and finished the project. During the After Party, Grandma Honey said she was very grateful for the help she received, and also for the lifetime friends she made.

"I've got a big beautiful family now," said Grandma Honey. "I thought it was big before but its extended family that I've got now. It's awesome."

While the season of giving big has come to an end, Ms. Gallagher is optimistic that the Big Give Project will only get bigger from here.

"I hope for 20 teams next year. There's so much need in the community that it hurts my heart to see someone not receive the help they need," she said, adding that she hopes Holloman's Big Give will inspire other bases to adopt the project before it rolls around again next year.

"It was a rough year, but if it was easy, we wouldn't have nearly the sense of accomplishment as we do," said Ms. Gallagher. "There were a lot of obstacles, challenges and issues, but we persevered and still managed to do some great things on behalf of our community."

To see the impacts that each Big Give team had on the local community, visit the Big Give Web site at www.hollomanfss.com/BGWebsite.

No federal endorsement of sponsors intended.