When Air Force retiree Gene Felisiano saw an opportunity to lend a hand to Operation Cookie Drive, he and his wife went all in.

Felisiano and his wife, Sandy, baked 12 dozen cookies for the yearly event geared at bringing single Airmen living in the dorms a little sweet token of gratitude. The McChord Field Officers' Spouses' and Enlisted Spouses' Clubs have spearheaded the yearly project since 2005.

Felisiano joined Airmen, spouses and other volunteers from across the base Jan. 27 at the McChord chapel support center as the group bagged cookies and readied them for delivery to the dorms.

"Chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin, brownie, coconut macadamia ... My wife made the 12 dozen over two weekends," said Felisiano, who calls himself a "domestic engineer" who does most of the household's grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning. "She also made three dozen last night because they're better fresh than frozen."

Felisiano did his part by filing through the assembly line and filling bags.

"(The volunteer response) has been great," said Nichole Call an OSC board member who helped coordinate this year's event. "I've had a lot of phone calls from the Airmen and people who want to volunteer."

Despite being due to give birth in three weeks, Call even made a few dozen of strawberry, chocolate and confetti cookies. She added them to the many other trays of Valentine's Day themed cookies.

"Each Airman will get a half-dozen cookies and a piece of candy that we're going to bag for them," Call said.

Students from Carter Lake Elementary and the McChord Child Development Center decorated bags with a Valentine's Day theme especially for the drive.

"They turned out really cute," Call said of the bags.

Airman 1st Class Amanda Levey heard about the drive through an email that circulated through the commander's office at the 62nd Operations Support Squadron. She was glad to come out and help.

"It's a real simple thing to volunteer for, yet it does so much good for so many Airmen," said Levey, who has been at McChord for a little more than one year. "It's a community event where everyone contributes a little bit."

She said she knows that Valentine's Day can be hard when Airmen are away from their families.

"You get one of these bags and it makes you feel a little more special," said the Klamath Falls, Ore., native. "It's a small gesture that means a lot to an individual."

Once all the cookies were packaged, the First Sergeants Council then delivered the bags to dorm residents.