Big Give winners announced

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Chase Cannon and Mr. Arlan Ponder
  • 49th Wing Public Affairs
HOLLOMAN AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. --  Team Holloman wrapped up its sixth annual Big Give event with an awards ceremony Aug. 9 on base at the Desert Sands Club.

The theme for this year's event was "Committed to Serving Time," and 26 teams with 448 Airmen, Department of Defense civilians and dependents competed for $10,000 in prize money and bragging rights.

"This was a great year," said Amanda Gallagher, 49th Force Support Squadron marketing director and creator of the Holloman Big Give. "I'm pretty proud of Team Holloman and really proud to count myself among this year's Big Givers."

This year's winners in the People's Choice categories were Old Skool in the small team category and Company Grade Officers Council (CGOC) in the large team category. The two teams took home $500 and $1,000 respectively. Old Skool helped provide a Center for Protective Environment with alarm clocks and cell phones, the phones were to be handed out to domestic abuse victims. The CGOC remolded the pregnancy help center building at the local Kitty City.

The overall winner of the small team Big Give award of $2,500 was given to Old Spice for their project to help two families with household maintenance and assist the Alamogordo High School baseball team with ball park renovations. The overall winner of the large team Big Give award of $7,500 was given to team Dirty Minotagruis Rats for their work on the local KBVA movie theater and at the Imago Dei Academy.

Others teams took on projects such as renovating a home for teenage mothers at the Fountaingate Children's Home, performing an outdoor facelift on the Father B. Hayes School and Thrift Shop, display maintenance at the Space Museum, landscaping at Holloman Middle School and Legacy Christian Academy, and indoor painting and storage building at Love Inc.

Additionally, teams assisted local groups such as Betty Dare, American Cancer Society, Chins, Habitat for Humanity and COPE.

"We realized working with COPE was for a good cause," said Master Sgt. Fatema Tahan, 49th Material Operations Squadron and Old Skool team member. "We collected alarm clocks and cell phones for COPE to hand out to the victims of domestic violence. These phones will be used for emergency calls to 911 when victims feel they are in danger."

For many participants, the mere fact they could give back to the communities where they live was reason enough to get involved. But for some giving back to those four-legged community members who can't help themselves made it even more special. This was evident in the CGOC's choice of assisting with improvements at Kitty City.

"All that was required of us was manual labor. The fundraising was already taken care of and they provided all the materials," said 1st Lt. Somvang Xayarath, 49th Aerospace Medicine Squadron bioenvironmental engineering element, and CGOC team member. "We hope to keep going out there and continue the work we started. The improvements we made will ensure 68 full grown cats will have a safe and secure environment to raise their litters."

Gallagher said one team, Too Inspired to be Tired, went beyond the local area by traveling to El Paso to make an impact on children.

"They gathered toys, books and crayons and handed them out to the kids at the Providence Children's Hospital," she said. "That was really a special thing to see."

This year, the 26 Big Give teams saved the community $289,336 while performing 6,617 hours of labor.

Since 2008, Holloman has hosted the annual Big Give program as a way to give back to the community. Since that time, Team Holloman has given approximately $1 million through renovation projects, assisting nonprofit organizations, and innovative plans and ideas. During the Big Give program, participants form teams and select a project they believe will benefit the community.

"All the teams showed great determination and really lived up to the theme," Gallagher said. "They did their best to commit as much time as possible to give back to the community. The teams this year really were the definition of commitment."

Colonel Andrew Croft, 49th Wing commander, said he was proud of all the work the 26 Big Give teams did during the annual event. He said the teams provided assistance to over 30 groups and charities that help make an impact in the local community.

"It is humbling to see the military community getting involved with the various organizations around the area to help make an impact in 'our' community," he said. "Even though we come here from all different parts of the country and world, the relationship between Holloman and our surrounding communities is unlike any other in the Air Force."

The commander also congratulated Amanda Gallagher and her marketing team for another successful year.

"This is the sixth year and Amanda and her team have done an outstanding job. This has been her vision and project since the start and it really has helped the community in countless ways."

All prize funds were donated by local Alamogordo businesses.

For more information about this year's Big Give and to see what each team did, visit the official Big Give Facebook page at www.facebook.com/holloman.biggive1.