Supporting the Troops for the Nation’s Birthday

UPDATE @ 11:52AM – Paula has finished boxing up everything, and the grand total is 33 boxes! WOW!

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From previous posts, we’ve detailed many of the charity efforts that Allied and our employees have contributed to over the years (Make-A-Wish, Charity Week, Angel Tree Gifts, etc).  As we near Independence Day, we’d like to highlight another effort our employees have taken on: Sending care packages to our troops in Afghanistan.

Debbie Piergrossi is a staple at Allied, and her son Steven is currently deployed with his troop of 23 soldiers.  Paula Lamkins, our resident video producer and document manager, has been working with Debbie to organize care packages several times already, and decided that the 4th of July was a great time to send more!  She single-handedly filled out all the customs forms, herself.

Over 15 employees pitched in to package up boxes, and Allied is picking up the shipping tab.  Already, one of our copywriters, Jessica Buck, has single-handedly boxed up over 8 boxes with the help of her family!  And a special thanks to Brain Pratt, of our Accounting department, for getting the boxes, putting the address labels on and hauling them to the post office to ship, which will not be an easy task with so many boxes! We are truly in awe of the selfless giving that will be so appreciated by our troops.

By 9AM this morning, on the 1st, we have over 25 boxes filled, and more to go!  That means each soldier will get to open at least one box.  (Debbie arranged for a special box for her son…it contains his favorite snack, Doritos! You have to love Moms!) When the boxes arrive, they will be given out to all the soldiers, and they’ll gather around to open them all together.  Then the sharing begins!  Depending on who likes or needs what, the contents will be spread out throughout the entire troop, which is simply the epitome of sharing.  While you hear all the time about the brotherhood the military troops have with each other, it’s just so wonderful to hear the proof of that in something so simple as sharing the gifts you received from a complete stranger.

If you’re looking for a way to give back to the troops, it’s simple: get a flat rate box from the post office and fill it with things the troops can use!  (For more complete instructions on how to send care packages to the troops in any service, check out AnySoldier.com)

Debbie’s son gave us a list of things they always need:

1. Socks/ green, white
2. Chewing gum
3. Candy/ chocolate,  gummy bears, etc
4. Energy drinks
5. Paper, pens, pocket sized notebooks
6. Towels, wash rags
7. Shampoo, soap
8. Toothpaste, toothbrushes
9. Batteries/ AA, AAA, 3V, D cell
10. Boot laces/ dark brown, black, desert tan
11. Ramen Noodles, cup of noodles
12. Can Opener
13. Iced tea single drink mixes
14. Hard candies/ I.e. life savers mints, Worthers original etc.
15. Small tool set
16. Small Clip on fans
17. Razors
18. Doritos
19. Shaving Cream
20. Q-Tips

These items are things we all take for granted that these soldiers need.  Getting them from their supply base can take weeks, and it’s always nice for them to see firsthand how appreciative we are for their service.