During August, many families are getting ready to help their sons and daughters pack up for college. Gone are the days needing to pack what they’ll need for the first year in the trunk of your car or van. Now many families find it easier to ship some of those items directly to their child’s dorm. That got me thinking about how to send care packages to our overseas service members in the Marines, Army, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard.
Operation Support Our Troops (OSOT) America, here in Naperville, coordinates the procurement and shipping of donations of care package items to troops deployed overseas and in harm’s way. They have sent over 2.3 million pounds of items, one 20-pound package at a time! Each box is addressed to an individual military service member, but designed to be shared with ten-plus soldiers. Every package sent is sent at the request of a military person or their loved one. OSOT does not publicize in any way or pass on to any person or organization the names that are given to them.
There are two ways to donate items for a Comfort and Care Package. The first is to check the items on the Wish List at osotamerica.org, purchase some items and drop them off at one of four locations listed below. The second way is to click on the link on their website and have the items delivered directly to the local chapter…