The United Service Organizations are granting Christmas wishes for hundreds of military children this year, including at Fort Meade, where organizers on Wednesday set up a North Pole full of toys and games for some very happy children.
More than 1,000 military kids from the Baltimore- Washington D.C. area gave a wish list to Project USO Elf, which matches up kids with sponsors who go shopping for toys, clothes and bikes.
"A lot of times funds are kind of short when it comes to the holiday season. People are trying to get other things and get prepared for family visits and things like that, and just being able to have this extra helping hand is pretty cool," said Sgt. Raymond Stanford, a recipient of the project.
Volunteers passed out big red bags of goodies at Fort Meade for more than three hours Wednesday. Active duty service members started registering their kids in October.
"We understand that they serve, too. For a lot of them, this could be their sixth, seventh or eighth move. They could be on their second school this year, and so to help them a little bit this season and make their holiday wishes come true, that's what the holidays are all about," said USO programs and services manager Shalyn Barelt.
Jaden Johnson, 5, will have a Christmas full of the toys from the list he's been perfecting for weeks.
"Power Rangers, a truck toy. That's what I wanted," the boy told 11 News reporter Kai Reed.
Jaden will have to wait to open his gifts on Christmas morning, but his mom, Petty Officer 2nd Class Jamica Johnson, was happy to know that he won't be disappointed.
"They just picked out awesome gifts. It was right on target for what we wanted. On TV, he was like, 'I want that and that and that,' and it was all the things he wanted," Johnson said.
The goal for this year was to serve 1,200 military children, but Project USO Elf surpassed that by serving 1,400 kids, organizers said.
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