Every year during the holiday season, Armed Services YMCA Hawai`i collects and distributes generous donations of food, commissary gift cards, and toys to military families through Operation Holiday Joy. Donations of food and gifts are collected by community partners, such as military units, businesses, civic clubs, church groups and schools, and dropped off to our offices in November and December where teams of volunteers prepare Operation Holiday Joy baskets full of delicious food and presents. The baskets are then picked up by a command representative and gifted to military families who are experiencing extreme hardship or financial difficulty. Through generous community support, approximately 3,000 military family members are gifted Operation Holiday Joy baskets during Thanksgiving and Christmas each year.

Operation Holiday Joy is open to military families from all seven branches of service, including the National Guard and Reserves.

Eligibility

E-6 and below –  Single parents and couples with or without children who are experiencing hardship or financial difficulties. Operation Holiday Joy is open to military families, stationed on Oahu, including Reserve and National Guard families.

Military commands, chaplains, other military family support agencies, and school counselors are welcome to help identify families in need of assistance. The eligibility emphasis is to serve junior enlisted families. We are not taking self-referrals for Christmas baskets. However, any servicemember experiencing hardship or financial difficulty will be considered. If you are in need, contact the branch 

The Process

1) Commands - download the Operation Holiday Joy referral form (Microsoft Excel .xlsx file)

2) Return completed referral form to the ASMYCA Hawai`i branch closest to you by December 9, 2022. Email is preferred. If you need to drop-off your referral form, visit our "Locations" page for branch addresses.

      • ASYMCA Hawai`i at Wheeler Army Airfield (WAAF) - wheeler@asymcahi.org
      • ASYMCA Hawai`i at Marine Corps Base Hawai`i (MCBH) - kaneohe@asymcahi.org
      • ASYMCA Hawai`i at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam (JBPHH) - branchdirectorph@asymcahi.org

3) We'll be in touch to confirm receipt of your referral form and with next steps.

Volunteer Opportunities - We Need Your Help

Thank you for considering ways to help military families! Military units, businesses, civic clubs, church groups and schools are invited to become a community partner by offering help during the holidays. There are three ways to help.

1) Help sort and assemble Christmas baskets between December 12 and 16. You can volunteer for a couple hours or a couple days - whatever works best for you or your group.

2) Organize a monetary contribution drive to raise funds to purchase supplemental items that weren't covered by donations.

3) Organize a food or toy drive. Units have turned their food drives into canned goods ruck marches in previous years.

Items for Operation Holiday Joy Food Drive (November & December) Download a flyer HERE.

Suggested Items for Christmas Operation Holiday Joy  (December Only)

If you are interested in helping in one of these way or would like to suggest another way to help, please contact your local ASYMCA Hawai`i branch director - contact information below. If you'd like to help in another way, please consider a donation to Armed Services YMCA Hawaii. Learn more HERE or