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Spreading holiday cheer: Hearts Apart reaches out to Scott families

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Christie Putz
  • 375th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. --  Holiday cheer and young, smiling faces filled the Airman and Family Readiness Center for the Hearts Apart holiday event Friday evening.

More than 150 family members of deployed Joint Total Force Scott showed up for the event, which kicked off with a round of holiday songs by the children.

Col. Al Hunt, 375th Airlift Wing commander, and Chief Master Sgt. James Suttles, 375th AW command chief, greeted the children.

"Don't forget the most important thing: Your moms and dads that aren't here tonight wish they could be," Colonel Hunt said to them.

The commander led the children in singing "Santa Claus is Coming to Town," and Santa himself arrived with Mrs. Claus to talk with the children and offer presents for all. After the much anticipated visit, everyone boarded a bus to Our Lady of the Snows Shrine for dinner and a tour of the holiday lights.

"Hearts Apart is a program that is a means to provide a time for families of the deployed to participate in events such as this one," said Tech. Sgt. Kristine Keyser, Scott Airman and Family Readiness Center readiness NCO.

The program is available to family members of all Scott Air Force Base employees who are either deployed or on a remote assignment.

"We reach out to all of the branches of service at (Joint Task Force) Scott and encourage all families to take part in our events," said Sergeant Keyser.

Kristi Yorko, wife of U.S. Army Maj. John Yorko who is currently deployed to Northern Iraq, said she is thankful that the base hosts these types of events.

"It's nice to have a place where everyone understands each other's situation, because we're all the in the same boat," she said. "And everyone is so welcoming and warm."

Mrs. Yorko is a Hearts Apart veteran, having attended the last event for Thanksgiving, as well as others prior to that one.

"With a deployed spouse, it's important to stay as busy as possible," she said.

Being able to "put this on the calendar" has seemed to help both her and her two daughters, Sofia and Isabel.

"They've been talking about this all day," she said.

While Mrs. Yorko has seen her husband come and go before, this is the first deployment that she and her daughters, ages 2 and 3, have endured together.

"It's great that all the kids can get together, have fun and make friends," she said.

Another added benefit, Mrs. Yorko added, is the opportunity to offer her assistance and experience to others.

"Sometimes I meet other people who might not be as far into the deployment as we are," she said. "It's nice to be able to talk to them and help them out."

The Heart's Apart program also offers other services for deployed spouses, such as morale calls three times per week using DSN phone lines.

"Keeping our families connected during deployment is crucial," said Sergeant Keyser.

Two Hearts Apart events are planned for January, including a welcome home dinner for recent returnees Jan. 18 and a day of family roller-skating Jan 26.