Thanks to the good will of our supporters, we were able to ship over 800 care packages filled with Girl Scout Cookies to our Marines in Afghanistan! Just three days prior to the March 27th Pack Day, the Care Package Project still needed over $7,000 to cover shipping costs. Concerned that the lacking shipping funds would keep hundreds of Marines from receiving tastes of home, the Marine Parents staff let their supporters know they needed help, and hundreds graciously answered their call.
The Marine Parents inbox filled and the phone rang off the hook with people wanting to donate, and within hours, all $7,000 needed for shipping was raised ensuring the cookies from the Girl Scouts of Connecticut and Columbia, Missouri were not donated in vain. A day later, 130 volunteers from Arizona to Wisconsin showed up grateful for the mild, Spring weather and eager to pack.
Whether they attended Pack Day or not, each person involved in the Care Package Project made this Pack Day a success. Family Readiness Officer Tony Smalls donated over one thousand pairs of socks while the Watts from Arizona donated palettes of various items flown in by Southwest Airlines. Many others held drives, wrote letters, donated their time and money, and packed the morning away without stopping once to think about themselves. Thank you to all who came out, and, again, thank you for helping us send reminders of appreciation and slices of happiness to our Marines during these trying times.
Thank You From Marines:
Thank you from a Marine
Email received April 14, 2010:
Dear Volunteers of MarineParents.com,
On behalf of myself and the rest of my Marines, I would like to thank you for your thoughtful care package of Girl Scout cookies, snacks and hygiene items. We have been in country for over four months now with much of that time spent forward deployed in extremely austere living conditions and any reminder of home is a much appreciated luxury. As rough as life is over here at times, it is often the welfare of loved ones at home that most effects the morale of young Marines, and it is a comfort that there is a ready-made support network of caring people such as yourself that exists to look after them while we cannot.
Thank you for your thoughts and prayers.
Thank you from a Marine
Email received April 6, 2010:
Dear Marine Parents,
I hope this letter finds everyone associated with Marine Parents, Girl Scout Council of Connecticut and all the great American citizens who are supporting the United States Marine Corps while being forward deployed. It is that support that gives us the spirit needed to continue the path of mission accomplishment. My unit is new to Afghanistan and consists of Marines from all over the United States. We all love the girl scout cookies and I am not surprised most of my Marines went for the Thin Mints, lucky for me I love the peanut butter cookies best. I promise to take pictures and send them via email next time. The truth is, by the time I returned with my camera, there was very little evidence of the care package.
Thank for your time and support!
Semper Fidelis
V/r,
MGySgt M
A Special Thank You to:
A special thank you goes out to the following companies, organizations and supporters who are helping to make this possible:
