PHOENIX — Each year, ABC15's Operation Santa Claus teams up with five local charities to make the holidays brighter for Valley families. The Military Assistance Mission (MAM) is among them.
The non-profit organization provides financial and emotional assistance to approximately 2,500 Arizona military members and their families each year, according to its website.
Staff Sergeant Sabrina Wolf, who enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 2019, is one of those members.
Wolf is a busy mother of three, with two daughters in elementary school and a son who recently celebrated his second birthday.
"I think it really shows [my kids] that Mom can do anything,” Wolf said about her time in the military. “You can do anything as a mom, as a female. So I think with them, it really just puts that standard in place for life."
According to Wolf, MAM has been key in helping her create lifelong memories with her children.
"I've really had a lot of good times building memories with MAM,” Wolf said.
Some of her favorite memories come from time spent at the Military Assistance Mission's Operation Holiday Giving event.
"The kids love it. They love seeing Santa,” Wolf said.
According to Wolf, asking for help isn’t easy for her. But, she said, MAM steps up big to provide that help, especially when support is needed most.
For Wolf, that was never that more evident than when her son needed to be admitted into the hospital.
"We had unexpected medical bills for the the ambulance, you know, we had different things that are unexpected coming, and then inflation didn't help,” Wolf said. “So it was tight last year. It's going to be probably tight this year because inflation is still going on. Without them [MAM], we probably wouldn't have much of a good Christmas."
