KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Men and women serving with the Tennessee Air National Guard at the McGhee Tyson base spent Sunday morning shopping for gifts to give to children spending Christmas in the hospital.
On Sunday, Guardsmen with the 134th Air Refueling Wing Security Forces Squadron helped pick out some fun gifts at Academy Sports + Outdoors in Knoxville to give to kids at the East Tennessee Children's Hospital.
The store helped pay for $1,000 worth of gifts for things like winter clothes, footwear, games and sports equipment. The squadron said it had also collected money throughout the year to pay for the annual gift-giving campaign, which is in its 20th year now.
"When you see the faces of those children in the hospital, and when they see Santa, for that little moment in time they're not sick. They don't have the ailment that brought them there. They're just a kid at Christmas," Senior Master Sergeant Joey Hungate said. "It's just an amazing experience."
Santa and his elves will deliver gifts to the kids on December 11 at ETCH.
Hungate said he plans to retire from the Air National Guard in the near future, but hopes to see the gift-giving event continue for many years down the road.