This Memorial Day weekend, while most folks are heading to the beach, Operation Gratitude will be kicking off one of its biggest events of the year, what the group's founder, Carolyn Blashek, calls their "Patriotic Drive." The drive will have the group packing boxes starting this weekend and running non-stop until July 1--boxes that will be shipped to American servicemen in Iraq throughout the summer.
I spoke with Blashek this morning, and she told me they hope to send at least 50,000 packages to the troops this summer, and then another 50,000 during their holiday drive, which kicks off on Veteran's Day. She tells me that their last holiday drive "was by far their biggest," with over 58,000 boxes shipped. They'll have "hundreds and hundreds" of volunteers packing boxes every weekend for the next four weeks in an effort to break that record.
Blashek says the packages include non-perishable food items that the troops can take with them when they go out on patrol--beef jerky, gum, candy, etc. They also include a variety of personal care items--sunscreen, foot powder, lip balm. And finally, entertainment items--CDs, DVDs, flash drives, decks of cards, and what Blashek says is the most popular item: Beanie Babies. If you're wondering why American troops would be clamoring for Beanie Babies, here's a letter the group got from a Marine stationed in Iraq:
I am one of the many Marines that you sent a care package. I want to thank each and every one of you for supporting us and for letting us know how much people support us back at home. I live with 17 Marines and Sailors in one room. Everyone got a package and everyone loved it especially the cookies and beanie babies. The cookies are excellent and the beanie babies help us out a lot with the local kids. We give them candy and toys and they give us the location for IED's. Once again, thank you for everything and for all the hard work that you put into the package. LCPL ND
Blashek says that after receiving that letter, they've made sure to include the toy in every box they ship.
So, the bottom line: All the products they ship are donated by major corporations and individuals from around the country, BUT the postage on each box is $9.15, and Blashek says "there's nothing we can do about it, except pay it." She says the group's overhead only adds about 50 cents to the cost of each package, but that the value of each package is somewhere between $100 and $120. She needs $1.2 million just to cover the group's postage, and they've still got a ways to go.
If you have a friend or family member serving in Iraq, you can head to the website and request that the group send them a package. I'm sure they'd be extremely grateful for any donation you can make as well. And if you want to see your donation at work, Fox News will be covering the kick-off all afternoon tomorrow.
Click here to go to the Operation Gratitude website, and click here to donate.
