Visit From Operation Homefront Elf Fills Stockings and Hearts of Army Family
When an Operation Homefront elf showed up at the Banning home on Christmas Eve in 2022 in a car filled with presents, three little girls were surprised.
Their mother, Freida, was grateful that the elf, Laura Scroggins, had saved Christmas for the Army family and their three little girls.
The holiday looked bleak when Freida reached out to Operation Homefront two days before Christmas. As an Army spouse of 14 years, Freida was familiar with the unique challenges military families face, especially during the holidays.
At Christmastime two years ago, the hardships converged.
The Banning family had just arrived at their new duty station at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington. Freida’s husband, Jesse, is stationed there with his infantry unit.
Their oldest daughter was 9 and struggling with being away from family and friends. All their home goods arrived from Fort Campbell, Tennessee, in shambles. Even the girls’ toys and gifts family sent early were destroyed in the move.
On top of that, the Bannings had depleted the family savings for a housing deposit for their home.
“We literally had nothing left for the girls,” Freida said.
“The feeling that we are not alone means everything to us.” – Freida Banning, Army spouse
Because of the move, she had missed opportunities to attend Operation Homefront Holiday Meals for Military® and Holiday Toy Drive events. But in a last-ditch effort, she sent a message to Operation Homefront.
“I didn’t care what it was, as long as the girls had something in this transition,” Freida said.
The message reached elf Laura, and she got busy.
“It happened to be a year where we had an abundance of donations, and following (the Operation Homefront) core value of Do What’s Right, the choice to help was an easy one,” said Laura, who is the organization’s regional operations manager in Washington state. She, too, was a military spouse and understands the unique challenges of military life.
“It is moving to know how much strength it takes to ask for help and admit you can’t give your children nice things this year.”
Freida was thrilled to see her daughters smiling as they received everything from baby dolls and Barbies to games, art kits, and huggable plushies.
“I couldn’t believe how much stuff she brought. It was like she knew my girls,” Freida said. “We didn’t know how we were going to do Christmas, but I know they understand how much sacrifice their dad makes.”
Freida stresses to her daughters the importance of the family supporting Jesse’s work in the military.
“He is sacrificing not just for our family but for all of America. What we do and say can affect him in his work,” she said. “When you’re a military wife, you have to help the kids understand the worst can come but there will be better days ahead.”
Jesse began serving in 2010, the same year he and Freida married. They had met in high school in their native Ghana and kept in touch after he immigrated to the United States with his parents. They reconnected after she came to the U.S. for college.
He worked as a phlebotomist and she as a nurse. He began serving in the National Guard to help them establish a strong foundation for the family they hoped to build.
His Guard service took him to the Texas-Mexico border for a year and to Lithuania, where he was deployed when Freida delivered their middle daughter at just 22 weeks.
Faced with caring for a medically fragile baby, they made the decision then for him to join the Army so Freida could leave her job as a registered nurse and stay home with their children.
Now, she homeschools the three girls and manages the family. With Jesse away most of the time, she has learned what it means to be a military family.
When their youngest daughter was born prematurely during the COVID-19 pandemic, Jesse was on a mission in Thailand.
“You literally become the mom and dad in every situation,” she said. “When you’re a military wife you have to let the kids understand the worst can come, but there will be better days ahead. We owe that to the children.”
She is grateful for the support of Operation Homefront and its donors for helping military families thrive.
“The donors have no idea how much they empower military families. This life is not easy,” she said. “Having someone who understands the struggles we go through means a lot to us. The feeling that we are not alone means everything to us.”
