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Highlands Today

Packaged with love and care

Jasmina Meyer/Highlands Today

From left: Buttonwood Bay residents Bob and Judy Marks and Suzy and Larry Vendrely have been shipping care packages filled with items for U.S. troops overseas.

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By PALLAVI AGARWAL

Highlands Today

Published: July 6, 2009

SEBRING - Ten Priority Mail boxes sit neatly stacked in Bob and Judy Marks' living room at Buttonwood Bay.

Another 10 lie on their bed, waiting to be stuffed with goodies, like Pretzels, beef jerky, note paper and magazines.

For the last two months, the Marks - who are full-time Buttonwood Bay residents - have been filling up care packages for U.S. troops overseas.

It all started when their son, Col. Dale Marks, was stationed in Baghdad three months ago.

When his parents found out some of the conditions U.S. soldiers in Iraq have to endure in their 8-foot-by-20-foot storage unit homes with no toilet and running water, they figured a little something from the home front would be a good gesture.

Since then, the couple has mailed 55 boxes, thanks to the generosity of Buttonwood Bay residents.

The Church of Buttonwood Bay has donated $1,000 in postage. Checks have come in from as far as the north where Buttonwood Bay snowbirds are now living.

Their good friends Larry and Suzy Vendrely, also from Buttonwood Bay, pitch in when they can. For them, it's more than just being good neighbors. Their son, Senior Master Sgt. Scott Vendrely, was deployed to Afghanistan about three weeks ago.

"When we go by a Sam's Club, we have to stop," Larry Vendrely said.

Need increases

June 30 marked the withdrawal of American troops from Iraqi cities and towns but there are still more than 130,000 soldiers left in Iraq, said Mary Harper, founder/president of Operation Shoebox.

Harper, who at one point had seven family members in Iraq and Afghanistan, started the group in 2003 to send support, snacks and much-needed personal care items to troops deployed overseas.

"The troops in Iraq have moved out of established areas and are now moving into tents," she said. "(Consequently) the need is greater. We are getting even more requests."

Last year, the group shipped 400,000 care packages to various troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

This year, things have slowed down a bit, she said.

Summer months are slow for donations and the economy has taken its pinch. Instead of the 1,000 a week, Operation Shoebox now sends about 600 care packages but the need has grown, Harper emphasized.

The big items on the list are hygiene products like body wash, shampoo, baby wipes, drink mixes and hard candy. In the winter, they send hot chocolate, apple cider and chocolate candy.

Neckties are also big. Soldiers can dip them in cold water and wrap them around their necks to keep cool. If you think Afghanistan, for example, is always cold with its snow-packed mountains, think again.

When Harper's son-in-law got off his plane in Afghanistan recently, it was the middle of the night and a sweltering 118 degrees outside.

Iraq's desert climate is well-known for its steep temperature differences and dust storms.

Other local efforts

Since the war started, the local American Legions and Veterans of Foreign War posts have been collecting and sending care packages by the thousands.

"The best gift" to send is a calling card so that soldiers can keep in touch with family back home, said Darlene Watkin, American Legion Auxiliary Unit 69 president.

The legion collects old cell phones and computer ink cartridges that are recycled by a company in exchange for free phone minutes.

"The sand is also their biggest enemy," Watkin said. So eye drops and cough drops are big on the list, too.

Along with the usual, there are things like flea collars soldiers request.

Turns out, soldiers wear the collars on their ankles to keep away fleas, said Linda Robinette, District 23 president for the VFW auxiliary.

The VFW has launched a campaign to collect packets of Crystal Light packages, a drink mix made by Kraft Foods.

"We also send non-perishable snacks...razors, shaving cream, CDs and DVDs," she said.

While goodies are always welcome, the personal touch goes a long way to cheer up a lonely soldier, Watkin said.

She encourages everyone to write letters. The topic: your pick.

"You can write about what's going on in the states, the economy, Obama...," she said. "It does not matter if they don't know you. If you are from the United States, you are family."

She recalls one lady writing about her cat.

The soldier who opened her letter knew more than he needed to know about this one Fifi from the states. But it didn't matter.

"This kid just loved the letter," Watkin said.

To help

Drop off care package items at local American Legions or VFW posts

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