Santa’s Workshop at The Great Place gears up for holiday season

FORT CAVAZOS, Texas - Employees and volunteers at Santa's Workshop at The Great Place are busy preparing for yet another bustling holiday season and the opportunity to bring joy to military families at Fort Cavazos.

Santa's Workshop is a nonprofit organization that assists military families in need by providing toys and gifts for military children ages 6 months to 12 years.

The crew of the Great Big Podcast sat down with Kismet Canady, president of Santa's Workshop at The Great Place, and Stephanie Barksdale, applications manager for Santa's Workshop at Fort Cavazos, to discuss the program and its significance to
military families.

Canady conveyed how the program make the holiday season memorable.

"(The workshop) helps relieve some of that stress during the holiday season," she said.

The organization held its annual open house Sept. 25 for unit command teams to learn more about the workshop and how it serves Soldiers and their families.

"Every year we have command teams switching out, so (the open house) is to help them better understand what it is that we do here in the workshop and to help understand the process," Canady explained. "(Commanders) can explain it to their Soldiers and be able to answer questions and help push the information."

Capt. Brian Coleman, Echo Forward Support Company, 8th Brigade Engineer Battalion, 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, said Soldiers aren't familiar with the program.

"We have Soldiers and families that probably don't even know about the program or don't know about the additional resources they have," he said. "So, it's important to come out, as a command team, to see what options are available for Soldiers and family members."

Warrant Officer Brandon Sessions, 2nd ABCT, 1st Cav. Div., couldn't agree more.

"We don't know what families are going through, especially during the holiday season," he said. "So, it's important to inform Soldiers about the programs and the resources we have available to them and their families."

Canady said volunteers and donors are vital to maintaining the surplus of toys and gifts the workshop donates each year.

"We're 100% volunteer led, and we have some extremely generous donors that provide so many good toys to these children," she said. "We wouldn't be here if wasn't for the volunteers and the donors."

Canady noted the application period is currently open until Oct. 15 and stressed the importance of applying regardless of rank.

"Even if you feel like you may not qualify for this program, put in an application," she said. "We have so many toys that we have to give out, and we want to bless as many families as possible."

To apply for Santa's Workshop at The Great Place, visit www.santasworkshopgp.org/applications, and click the "Apply Now" button at the bottom of the page. Be sure to read over the eligibility requirements and what to do if selected.

Additionally, to donate toys or monetary gifts, visit www. santasworkshopgp.org.

To volunteer to be one of "Santa's elves," email [email protected].

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