COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP/WACH) -  Some South Carolina volunteers and business owners are letting needy National Guard members and their families know they aren't forgotten at Christmas time.

"Operation Christmas Cheer" provided holiday gifts and food deliveries to 35 guard families this year facing unemployment or other economic hard times.

Barbara Livingston, wife of South Carolina Adjutant General Maj. Gen. Robert E. Livingston Jr., helped deliver some of the gifts.

“We can’t express what it means to have the support of the community behind us not only at Christmas but throughout the year,” said Mrs. Livingston

The state Department of Employment and Workforce reports that the jobless rate for veterans is about 2 to 3 percent higher than for the general population.