Operation We Care

 

Greetings friends of Operation We Care,   Hopefully this email finds everyone happy, healthy and ready for Spring. As we come out of a long tough winter Operation We Care is preparing for our next major packing event on:   Sunday May 22 Powellville Fire Hall 10:00am til we finish - usually around 3:00pm   We have lots of exciting things planned for this event and we will release the details as they are confirmed. Here are a few of the things that we are in need of:   1. We need kids to color boxes!! The girls from Girl Scout Troop 688 have already begun their effort. Here is what we are doing: The Post Office has imprinted writing on the inside of the care packages making it difficult to color them properly so some folks have been cutting out panels of colored construction paper and writing messages, flags, etc. on them and then glue them to the inside of the boxes. Or you can be creative and do your own thing. Our goal is to show our appreciation for the dedication and sacrifice of our brave men and women serving in harm's way and getting the kids involved in this effort has been very successful.   2. We need names and addresses of troops to send the care packages to. If you have a family member, co-worker, neighbor, friend or just know of someone who we could send a care package to please email me at http://us.mc1102.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=jemerritt314@yahoo.com . The information we need is:      1. The soldier's name, rank and address      2. The soldier's branch of service and how long they have been deployed       3. Your name, phone number and email address for contact reasons Our mailing list and all contact info is kept private for security and privacy reasons.   3. We need to collect lots of donations to fill the care packages. After sending 328 care packages in November our supplies of most items have run low. We need all the items on the donation list but here are the top 10:   1. SMALL packs of baby wipes. Example is the 40ct size from Walmart for 97 cents.   2. Ramen noodles. Not the kind in the cup. We use the "packets".   3. Shampoo and body wash   4. Lip balm   5. Microwave popcorn   6. Pop Tarts   7. Granola bars   8. Chef Boyardee canned pasta   9. Small packs of peanuts, trail mix, etc.  10. Decks of playing cards We also need ziplock bags in the sandwich, quart and gallon size to package some of the items in to prevent cross contamination. A copy of our updated donation list is attached.   4. We need financial donations to help cover the cost of postage. In 2010 Operation We Care spent over $7000.00 on postage to mail over 550 care packages. Financial donations are much needed and appreciated. You can make your check out to "Operation We Care" and drop it off at any of the drop off locations or mail it to: Operation We Care      c/o Minuteman Press      1008 S. Salisbury Blvd.      Salisbury, MD 21801   5. We need space!!! For the past 3 years we have been able to utilize the space in our house to store some of the items for Operation We Care but the project has grown to such a degree that we need to find an option. We are looking for enough space to store 3-4 pallets worth of supplies. If the space were in the Salisbury area it would be helpful for accessability reasons. If the space were donated to Operation We Care it would be helpful as we try to use the money collected for postage expenses - see item #4 above.   6. We need your pictures. As many of you know Karly Bolon creates a picture DVD each year that we include in the care packages at the November packing party. As you travel around this year and see interesting sights - especially the patriotic ones - please take a few pictures and email them to me. Karly will go through them in October when she produces the next DVD.