I came across an article in the Laconia Daily Sun yesterday titled “Guay family again collecting items to ship to troops in Iraq and Afghanistan”. It talks about Kendra Guay and family collecting items and cards to be sent out to the U.S. troops in Afghanistan and Iraq. I feel that this is a very worthwhile cause and contacted Kendra asking for more information about what they are doing and to offer my support in getting the word out.

The article says:

The collection day will be Saturday, May 17 at Package Plus, across from the Belknap County Courthouse on Court Street. Family members will be there from 8 a.m. to noon. There is also a box set up at the store (all week) to collect monetary donations for those who might not be able to make it to the Saturday collection times.

“We look forward to having the community come out and show their support to out military families in a simple way,” said Guay. We will be collecting some summer items to be put into care packages and sent to our deployed troops in Afghanistan and Iraq, and we will also this time have cards to sign that will be sent to the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, to wounded Service members in recognition of Armed Services Day. Thank you to everyone who has continued to be a part of all of the collection days we have held in the past. The Christmas project was a huge success and you all helped make that happen.” 

In Kendra’s response to my e-mail she writes about what they do… 

We as a family do community collection days about 3 times per year, Armed Forces day, around July 4^th, and again from Thanksgiving to Christmas. We sent out 800 stuffed stockings in 2007!!! It was a huge success. New Covenant Christian Church is where we go, and they have also been a huge source of support in making all this happen.  

I have been sending care packages since Christmas 2001 when we had a friend who went to Afghanistan with the first unit of Marines to ship out Sep 20th, 2001. It has been a great experience and I have met tons of amazing, brave and courageous men and woman through the years.

…and how they do it…

We receive 2 names per day, of deployed service members. We send all of them a card, and try to get a care package to as many as we can. If anyone local has someone deployed they should bring the name and address of that person to me on Saturday and we will get a package off to them as well. 

…and where it is…

A little about this collection.... the paper got it right.  It will be Saturday from 8- noon, at Package plus. We will be collecting the items listed, and also we will have cards there to sign or people can write their own and bring them and they will be added to the care packages. We will be taking monetary donations to help with the shipping and also to buy small box fans that are battery operated. 

I feel strongly that anything we can do to help OUR TROOPS know we are thinking about them and care for their well being is greatly appreciated. Having been in the Army stationed overseas without family I know that the packages I received helped me tremendously.

The story lists some of the things that will be collected:

…some of the items that she is collecting this time around are sun screen, chap-stick, dried fruit, trail mix, beef jerky, Slim Jims, hard candy (no chocolate) and DVDs. Any monetary donations will be used for the purchasing of battery operated fans and the shipping for the care packages.

PLEASE come by and help in any what you can.