FORT LEE, Va. –
FORT LEE, Va., Dec. 23, 2016 — Each year military groups across the country hold toy drives to help make sure every kid has something under their Christmas tree.
The local toy drive at Fort Lee, Virginia, is conducted by Army Community Services, which provides the donations as gifts for families who have lost an immediate family member in war. With its headquarters here, it was natural for Defense Contract Management Agency personnel to look to ACS as a direction for spreading their holiday spirit.
This year, members of DCMA Technical Directorate decided that instead of a gift exchange at its annual holiday party, members would bring a toy to donate. Edward Schnell and Nathan Rentfrow, both with the directorate, took the lead in collecting the gifts, a worthwhile effort that brought in over 50 toys.
The directorate’s toys were added to those collected by the agency’s director, Air Force Lt. Gen. Wendy Masiello, as part of her own holiday party. Like the Technical Directorate, Masiello encourage attendees to bring a toy to donate rather than a gift. The end result was more than 100 toys gathered by DCMA, hand delivered Dec. 20 to Fort Lee ACS by Richard Fanney, Technical Directorate executive director; Army Lt. Col. Kenneth Darnall, executive officer; and Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Michael Mitchell, senior enlisted advisor.