BELLA VISTA — Everybody who is reading this should be patting themselves on the back right now.
Because of your generosity, the employees of this office, between Nov. 15, 2007, and Sept. 6, 2011, have shipped 329 boxes full of supplies to the men and women stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Those 329 boxes equate to 3,627.1 pounds, at a cost of $4,441.46, or $1.22 per pound.
You are to be commended.
But we can't stop there.In fact, we can't stop until every one of those soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines come home.
We need to continue our efforts of collecting supplies and money to keep this program going.
As we move from fall to winter the troops will need some more specific items, such as heavy sox, knit caps, gloves scarves, thermal underwear, hand warmers and plenty of lip balm and anything else you can think of that will help them through those cold days and nights.
Of course the standard supplies - the writing material, phone cards, books (paperbacks only), magazines, DVD, CDs, snacks of all types - are still in great demand.
With the holidays coming up perhaps some homemade cookies andcakes will make it to our office so we can ship them.
You might even start a Christmas card campaign in your church or other group. They can be addressed to "Any Soldier" and shipped with the other items.
Being so far away from home, away from family and friends, is hard on these men and women. And at the same time they are in harm's way 24 hours a day.
These packages go a long way in boosting their morale and reminding them what they are fighting for - freedom both there and here.
We know the packages are well received and appreciated. We know this because we hear from some of the recipients from time to time.
Let's show these men and women just how much they mean to us. Let's start collecting supplies and filling those boxes - today.
Bring your supplies to 313 Town Center West, the Vista office, and we'll take care of the packing and shipping.
Area, Pages 33 on 09/28/2011