Looking back...

When we began Operation Touch of Home (OTOH) in 2007, we had no idea that we'd still be at it nine years later. Our first—and what we thought would be our only—care packaging event took place in November 2007. We simply wished to show our support for soldiers stationed overseas during the holiday season. Our expectations did not go beyond gathering the community for one event to send much-needed supplies and well wishes to our deployed soldiers. Yet after we saw how successful it was, we decided to continue our efforts.

For the next eight years, we held bi-annual events to show the soldiers that they had not been forgotten. As the number of deployed soldiers has decreased over the years, we've found it more and more difficult to gather names and addresses of those still overseas. This was one of the reason that we decided to not hold an event in spring 2016—and this is the main reason why OTOH will be on hiatus after our event in November.

We have made some wonderful relationships over the years and have been able to touch countless lives, including those of soldiers and their families. It can make a world of difference to know that someone out there is cheering for you, even if that person is a perfect stranger. We hope that our efforts will cause a ripple effect of small acts of kindness throughout our community.

Do you know what time it is??

As the fall season settles in, the time has arrived for us to begin preparations for our 17th care packaging event.  It feels like just yesterday that we were first setting out on our mission of bringing a "touch of home" to deployed soldiers. 

Photo from our third care packaging event (11/2008)

Yet that was eight years ago.  We've found that support for our efforts has fluctuated over the years; often depending on what's being reported in the news at that time.  Some people have even suggested that we stop our efforts since a majority of troops have returned home.  Nevertheless, we continue to hear from soldiers time and time again how much the care packages mean to them.  One recipient recently wrote, "No matter how big or small the care package, it affects us in a huge way.  These packages represent love and support.  Sometimes that is all we need over here.  The packages make our lives and morale so much better while deployed and help us get that much closer to coming home."  And with that, how can we not continue our efforts?

Photo from our most recent care packaging event (6/2015)

Please join us on Sunday, November 1st as we show the soldiers deployed overseas that they have not been forgotten.  If you can't make it to the actual day of the event, there are still many other ways we could use your help beforehand.  Contact us at operationtouchofhome@gmail.com to learn more!

Making New Friends

Along our path of working to show support for soldiers overseas, we've met some amazing people.  Some folks have had loved ones deployed overseas while others have had no personal connection but simply wanted to help.  We've even been fortunate enough to meet a couple of the soldiers who have received our care packages and returned home safely.  Over time, we've made some wonderful and unexpected friends.

While beginning to plan for our next care packaging event this spring, we were approached by a fellow veterans' advocate, Rob Wilson at the Veterans Education Project in Amherst, MA.  He had been in touch with Jennifer Zazo  at the Springfield Armory regarding an outreach project for the High School of Commerce students.  Rob and Jennifer thought Operation Touch of Home would be a great match for the Commerce students to show their support for deployed service members.  We quickly agreed!  Although our spring event is typically held in April or May at the Community Church of North Orange & Tully, we've decided to hold this event on June 6, 2015 at the Springfield Armory.  Our wish is that our old friends, new friends and yet-to-be friends will join us in June to shower the soldiers with an overwhelming amount of support and encouragement!

We're very excited for this new partnership and hope you can join us!

A brand new year, the same ol' mission...

We started Operation Touch of Home in 2007 to show deployed soldiers that they had our support back home.  On November 8, 2014, we held our 15th care packaging event.  When we first began OTOH, we never imagined what it would grow into so many years later.  Our original vision was to hold one care packaging event as a community service project for the North Orange Grange.  Yet we were astounded by the response and support from the community.  People came from far and wide to help us at that first event.  After that, we decided to continue our efforts.  We've since sent more than 700 care packages to soldiers stationed overseas.  As the numbers of deployed soldiers has waxed and waned, we've noticed the amount of addresses we receive has decreased dramatically most recently.  This has made our attempts to provide these brave men and women with a "touch of home" much more difficult.  We can't rely on Veterans' Agents for addresses due to confidentiality restrictions.  Attempts to connect with Family Readiness Groups have unfortunately been unsuccessful.  Thus far, we've found the best way for us to obtain names and addresses of soldiers overseas is by word of mouth.  That being said, our next care packaging event will be held in May 2015.  It may seem too early, but now is the best time to start asking those you know if there are any soldiers in their lives who would welcome a "touch of home".  Missy Elumba of CineMEumba Productions created a wonderful video about our operation and the work that we do.  We're simply a small group of people trying to show deployed soldiers that they have not been forgotten.  Help us do what we can!

Save the date!

It's hard to believe how much time has passed since our last care packaging event in May....and even harder to believe that we're already preparing for our next one on Saturday, November 8th!  You've heard the drill many times before--we need YOUR help in order to make this another successful event.  There's a variety of ways that you can become involved.  First, help us by simply telling others about our care packaging event.  Hang up event posters in your area.  Share the event on Facebook.  Talk to your coworkers, neighbors and the cashier at the grocery store.  Second, when talking to these fine folks, ask if they know any soldiers stationed overseas.  We're having extreme difficulty lately gathering names and addressed of deployed soldiers.  Due to confidentiality limitations, we can't turn to Veterans' Agents for this information.  Instead, we rely on family and friends to refer a soldier.  (Hint: That's where you come in!)  Third, we can always use supplies to fill the care packages and monetary donations to help with the cost of postage.  

And finally, we always have a need for volunteers on the actual day of our care packaging event.   Above is a photo from our last care packaging event in May with some of our dedicated volunteers.  We can honestly say that it wouldn't be possible without them.  Let us know if you'd like to be one of them on Saturday, November 8th!

Six degrees of separation...?

Have you heard the theory about six degrees of separation?  It's basically a concept that "everyone and everything is six or fewer steps away, by way of introduction, from any other person in the world".  So where are we going with this?  To make a long story short, we've recently had great difficulty gathering names of soldiers overseas to send care packages.  We must rely on family and friends of these soldiers to provide us with the addresses.  Yet as the number of deployed soldiers has slowly decreased, so has the number of address referrals OTOH receives.  While it's comforting to know that this means countless soldiers are now home with their loved ones, we know that there are still many more stationed overseas.  In order to show our continued support for these brave men and women, we need your help!

Ask your friends, neighbors and coworkers to see if they know of a soldier stationed overseas that would appreciate a care package.  The point is that you never know who you might be connected to in the world.  One small act of passing this information along to others could help to show a soldier overseas that he or she is not forgotten.  And that, my friend, is priceless.

Care packages at a prior event preparing to be sent to soldiers overseas.

*Please note that our next care packaging event is on Saturday, May 10th and we need addresses by Saturday, May 3rd in order to prepare custom forms, paperwork, etc. beforehand.

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!

We did it again!

On Sunday, November 3rd, more than thirty volunteers joined OTOH for the 11th event to send some joy to the soldiers stationed overseas during the upcoming holiday season.  Volunteers included military family members and those from Diemand Farm, North Orange Grange, Mahar Key Club and Veterans Education Project.  The volunteers helped to prepare more than fifty care packages which included items such as drawings and letters from students at Swift River School, crackers, Easy Mac, cookies, magazines and toiletries.

Soldiers have already written thanking OTOH for the unexpected kindness.  One Sargent wrote, "A little taste and reminder of home from these care packages are what truly makes a deployment worthwhile.  Knowing that people at home who are taking time out of their busy schedule just to not only think of us over here but act on it speaks volumes."  A First Lieutenant wrote, "Being deployed in support of a war that many have forgotten about is difficult sometimes.  To be the recipients of such an overwhelming random act of kindness is incredible.  The soldiers here face challenges on a daily basis that no person should have to experience in their entire lives.  Constant reminders that the American people are still behind the soldiers are what keeps these guys going."

Our next event to prepare care packages will be held in April 2013.  However, if you know of a soldier who is stationed overseas and would appreciate a care package, please contact OTOH.  Thank you to all of our wonderful volunteers!!  We could not do this without you!

We need YOUR help!

We are gearing up for our eleventh care packaging event on Saturday, November 3rd.  To make this another successful event, we need YOUR help!  As always, we need volunteers on the day of the event to help us pack the boxes, complete the custom forms and write letters.  However, there are many other ways you can help!

1)  Do you know of a soldier stationed overseas who would appreciate a care package?  If so, download the "Soldier Referral Form" from the link above and return it to us by Saturday, October 20th.  Your soldier will then be sent a package with a "touch of home"!

2)  Donate supplies to go into the care packages!  Download the "Suggested Supply Donations" list from the above link to see what items we need.  Supply donations can be dropped off at Adams Animal Hospital in Athol or Diemand Farm in Wendell until Saturday, October 20th.

3)  Make a monetary donation to help us purchase needed supplies and pay for the cost of shipping.  We spend close to $1,000 for each event!  This includes purchasing supplies for the care packages as well as shipping the packages.  Donations can be mailed to: Operation Touch of Home, 93 Royalston Road, Orange, MA 01364.

If you'd like to help at the event, please contact us by Saturday, October 20th to receive more details.  As always, we greatly appreciate the support we receive from you and others in our community.  We could not do this without you!

We're still at it!

Although our next care packaging event is not until November, we recently sent out nine packages to soldiers stationed overseas.  We received new addresses of troops deployed to Afghanistan and we didn't want to wait until our next event to send them goodies and a "touch of home".

The summer is flying by and shortly we will be preparing for our big shipment of care packages in the fall.  Enjoy the weather and we hope to see you in November!

Our 10th Event!

Time sure does fly by! We held our tenth care packaging event on Saturday, April 14^th. Nineteen community members came together to prepare more than forty packages to be sent to soldiers overseas. One soldier recently thanked OTOH: “Your packages could not have arrived at more of a perfect time … It means so much to us to know that we are not forgotten out here, 9000 miles away from our home.” Another wrote, "Most of us have completed multiple tours during both of these wars, and it amazes us that people at home still care." We appreciate the support OTOH receives from the community; from donations of supplies and money to volunteering, spreading the word and referring soldiers. Since OTOH began in 2007, more than 510 care packages have been sent to troops overseas. Without the community's support, none of this would be possible. OTOH is sponsored by the North Orange Grange and Diemand Farm in Wendell.

Time flies...!!!

Although it seems unbelievable, our next care packaging event is coming up soon!! It feels like just yesterday that we had our ninth event and sent more than fifty care packages to soldiers overseas.

Volunteers after another successful event

Our tenth event will take place on Saturday, April 14th. We will be looking for volunteers to help on Saturday to prepare the care packages. If you are unable to help on that day, you can help in other ways as well. We are in great need of supplies to fill the care packages. Please use our Suggested Supply Donation list (found above in the Important Documents link) as a guide for needed supplies. Donations need to be submitted by Friday, April 6th. To recommend a soldier to receive a package at our next event, please fill out the Soldier Referral Form (found above in the Important Documents link) and send it to us. If you are interested in helping in these or other ways, please contact us to become involved in another great event!

Upcoming Event!

Our ninth event to prepare care packages will be held on Saturday, November 5th in North Orange. If you are interested in helping us with this event, we would love your support!  Below is a list of ways you can help, but if you think of another way you would like to support OTOH, please contact us.  We would love to hear your ideas!

Help Us Get the Word Out: Below you will find a link to our poster for the upcoming event. Please share this link with your friends. Also, you could print a copy and hang it up at your workplace, church or anywhere in your area that would be visible to help get the word out about this event.

November 2011 Event Poster

Monetary Donations: We are always looking for monetary donations to help cover the cost of shipping and purchasing supplies. If you would like to donate money, please make checks payable to Operation Touch of Home and mail to 93 Royalston Road, Orange, MA 01364-9633.

Supply Donations: Below you will find the link to a current list of needed supplies. Supplies can be dropped off at Diemand Farm in Wendell, Adams Animal Hospital in Athol or you can contact us to make other arrangements. The deadline for supply donations is October 28th.
Supply Donation List

Refer-A-Soldier: We are collecting current names and addresses of soldiers stationed overseas that would like to receive a care package. Below you will find a link to the form you will need to fill out to send us all the information we need. The deadline for addresses is October 28th.

Soldier Referral Form

Volunteer: We are in need of volunteers to help at the event. If you are interested in helping, please contact us by October 28th to be added to the list and to get the details about volunteering at the event.

Thank you for your continued support of Operation Touch of Home!!

Latest Adventures of OTOH

We recently attended the 2011 Massachusetts ESGR Bosslift to San Antonio, TX.

We arrived at Westover Air Reserve Base in Chicopee, MA early on a rainy Wednesday morning. Joining other community leaders and employers, we boarded the C-5B Galaxy and took-off for Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, TX.

Jess was able to sit in the cockpit jump-seat for take-off and part of the flight. Others on board were later able to tour the cargo area and cockpit during the flight.

After arriving at Lackland AFB, we were briefed by Col. Petersen, the Wing Commander of the Alamo Wing, and toured the C-5 Flight Training School. We then went on a walk-through tour of the entire C-5 aircraft.

With some free time to spare, we visited the Alamo, which was across the street from the Emily Morgan Hotel where we were staying.

We rejoined the group to attend a welcome reception at the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce. We were surprised and honored to receive the Seven Seals Award presented to us by the ESGR.

Following the reception, we enjoyed a stroll along the Riverwalk and took in the sights of the city.

The next morning, we visited the US Army Medical Department Center and School.

We then had a chance to see and handle the equipment used by the Marines of the 4th Reconnaissance Battalion.

We finished our tours by visiting the 71st Battlefield Surveillance Brigade. Following a briefing by Maj. McGowan, we viewed the Humvees and communication systems.

On a hot, sunny, Texas Thursday afternoon, we boarded the C-5B aircraft to head back to Westover ARB.






We feel this trip was very educational and a great opportunity to meet service personnel as well as employers of the Guard and Reserve at Westover ARB. Thank you to ESGR and those at Westover ARB who made this trip possible. We are grateful for being included in this wonderful opportunity.

Please check back soon for information on our upcoming care packaging event in November!