Operation Teddy Bear needs volunteers

  • Published
  • By Senior Master Sgt. Janice Lambard
  • 349th Airlift Control Flight
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  It's time again for the annual kick off of Operation Teddy Bear, the 349th Air Mobility Wing's largest and farthest reaching community outreach project. 

The brain-child of two civilian employees, William Ronders and Cipriano Villanueva, this program began more than 25 years ago with wing members traveling to one local school and touching the lives of 35 children. 

Through the years, this program has grown to encompass 12 local schools in four cities, from two different counties and reaching more than 1200 children annually. Fund raising for this project is on-going; in fact it never ends. 

Approximate cost for annual OTB visits is $15,000 per year which is supplemented with infusions of supplies and donations from local merchants who partner with the Top 3 to help foster community goodwill and holiday spirit for disadvantaged kindergarten children in local Title 1 schools. 

The 349th AMW Top 3 is once again sponsoring this project; however, this year individual units are taking the lead to rotate the bulk of the preparations and work load through all squadrons in the wing in the coming years. This year, OTB lead units are the 349th AMW Chaplain's Office in conjunction with the 349th Airlift Control Flight; however, 

volunteers are needed from Team Travis to ensure program success.
School visits are slated for the first three weeks of December. 

For information on scheduled dates and locations, contact Senior Master Sgt. Janice Lambard, at 424-5853 or Senior Master Sgt. Alice Munoz at 424-1368.