A "touch of home" in each care package!

Earlier this month we prepared 30 care packages for soldiers overseas!  Volunteers helped to fill each care package with plenty of goodies including snacks, magazines and toiletries.  Each package also included creative works of art made by students at Swift River School in New Salem, MA.

Artwork and letters for the soldiers.

Placements crafted by students.

The school has been involved with OTOH since we began our efforts in 2007.  Many times, soldiers tell us how much these seemingly simple additions to the care packages mean to them.  It's things like this that help us to show soldiers that they are not forgotten.  A little "touch of home" truly can go a long way!

Another event is underway!

It seems like only yesterday that we were collecting supplies and gathering soldiers' addresses for our care packaging event in April.  And here we are again preparing for our next event on Saturday, November 2nd!  As with every event, there are countless details to be addressed beforehand.  From hanging up event posters to purchasing supplies to collecting soldiers' addresses, each task is important to ensure we have a successful event.  One vital piece of our preparations include fundraising.  OTOH operates entirely on donations received from local businesses and community members.  Our biggest expense always remains the same--the cost of shipping the care packages.  For our last event in April, it cost more than $700 to send the care packages.  Each package costs $14.85 to ship and we anticipate that we will send roughly 50 packages in November.  In order to ensure that OTOH is able to continue our efforts, help is needed!  If you are interested in donating to our cause, you may send a check made payable to Operation Touch of Home at 93 Royalston Road, Orange, MA 01364.

As you can imagine, there are many more ways to become involved!  If you're interested in helping us either before or at the event, please contact us at operationtouchofhome@gmail.com to share your ideas.  We look forward to hearing from you!!

What Makes A Care Package Even Sweeter??

...Girl Scout Cookies!!

We will be partnering with the Turners Falls Brownie Troop #12943 to send Girl Scout Cookies in our next shipment of care packages on Saturday, April 20th.  Troop Leader, Heather Poirier, recently contacted OTOH in hopes of adding some extra sweetness to our care packages.  Heather has sent care packages to a loved one previously stationed overseas.  She knows how much these packages mean to our troops.  We hope to include at least one box of Girl Scout Cookies in each package for this next event.

If you are interested in donating a box of cookies, please contact Heather at: fourpoiriers@msn.com. 

The Brownie Troop will also be helping to prepare the care packages and will be bringing letters and drawings to be included.  We are very excited about this new collaboration and look forward to hearing from you!  Mark your calendars and be on the look-out for more information about our next event!