Operation Good Cheer
Making Christmas Wishes Come True
Enjoy our 50 years of Operation Good Cheer Booklet (click here)
December 2, 2023 marked our 53rd year of Operation Good Cheer. Though weather was not on our side again this year. We were so thankful to have a record sign up of 280 pilots! With high winds and ice only 12 Spirit of Good Cheer flights were made by large aircraft to Northern Michigan.
Operation Good Cheer was able to make Christmas wishes for 6,605 children and youth in foster care across Michigan! We had a record high of 100 agencies participate and 247 generous donor groups and individuals. These gifts were transported to Pentastar Aviation where 19,815 gifts were sorted by hundreds of volunteers and loaded back on the planes and trucks and shipped across Michigan from the Oakland County International Airport.
WHAT A GREAT SUCCESS OPERATION GOOD CHEER 2024 WAS!
We are looking forward to being back at Pentastar Aviation on Friday December 6, 2024 and the Oakland County International Airport on December 7, 2024.
We appreciate all of the Pilots that registered to fly. Thank you for your time and willingness to support OGC! We hope that the weather will cooperate in 2024. We will regroup and reorganize and we look forward to seeing all of you again December 7, 2024.
Documents
Donor Participation Form: (Fill in and click submit and you will recieve a confirmation)
Please submit by September 20, 2024
Event Volunteers
In our efforts to brighten the holidays for thousands of infants, children, teenagers, and adults with disabilities, we are looking for volunteers to assist us during our 2023 Spirit of Good Cheer flight weekend. Volunteers will be needed both days. Friday, December 6, 2024, and Saturday, December 7, 2024. If you are available please sign up on the website below.
Event Volunteer Application: Click here to volunteer
Please submit by December 4, 2024
Friday - December 6, 2024
Volunteers are needed 10:00 am to 8:00 pm. There are many volunteer opportunities. A few of them are helping unload approximately 20,000 incoming Christmas gifts that are wrapped and bagged from donor and ground transport vehicles, working the wrap table (gifts that need wrap repairs), loading gifts on to trucks and planes, or helping guide vehicles in the parking lots. All volunteers should report to Pentastar Aviation at 7310 Highland Rd, Waterford, MI 48327. It is west of the Oakland County International Airport Control Tower. When you arrive, you will be asked to sign in and choose where you would like to work then there will be instructions and you will be shown your assigned area.
Saturday - December 7, 2024
Volunteers are needed 7:00 am to 4:00 pm (possibly later depending on weather) to help load approximately 20,000 wrapped and bagged Christmas presents onto small aircraft and trucks. All volunteers should report to Pentastar Aviation west of the Oakland County International Airport Control Tower. You will be sign in. From there, you will be directed to your assigned work area.
Pilots
Pilots are needed to transport Christmas presents from Oakland County International Airport to airports across Michigan during our Spirit of Good Cheer flight on Saturday, December 7, 2024. Flights begin at 7:30 am. If you are available please sign up on the website below. Make sure to choose the “pilot” to be able to enter your plane information.
Pilot Application: Click here to volunteer
Please submit by December 4, 2024
For additional information, please contact:
Child and Family Charities
Karen Storlie, Program Manager
517-349-6226 Ext 103
or
Asher Reese, Development Associate
517-349-6226 Ext 101
We would like to thank all individuals, Companies, groups, and organizations that volunteer and/or donate their services, equipment, and time to help make Operation Good Cheer a success each year.
WE COULD NOT DO THIS WITHOUT YOU!
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