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Blackanthem Military News
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Last Updated:
May 12, 2008 - 2:11:01 PM |
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Blackanthem Military News
 ENCINO, CA - Throughout the month of May, designated by Congress as Military Appreciation Month, Operation Gratitude will prepare and ship tens of thousands of care packages to U.S. Troops deployed in Iraq, Afghanistan and on ships at sea. Working 7 days a week all month, the tireless volunteers will sort, inspect and organize the millions of donated items to ready them for two energy-filled weekends of Assembly Line action on May 17-18 and May 24-25.
"This will be the fastest paced Care Package Drive we have ever undertaken" declared Charlie Othold, Director of Operations. "We only have two weekends of Prep Work and two weekends of Assembling, but we will get a package shipped to every service member whose name we receive" he promised.
More than 500 Volunteers flocked to the Armory during "Big Sunday Weekend," May 3-4, as part of this renowned Los Angeles City-Wide volunteerism event. The amazing efforts of the dedicated crowd ensured that the Operation Gratitude volunteers will be able to accomplish Othold's goal by the end of May.
In observance of Memorial Day on Saturday May 24, the organization will pay tribute to Wounded Warriors with a screening of the documentary "Warriors...in their own Words" trailer. On the same day, Operation Gratitude will celebrate the shipment of its 350,000th Care Package, the contents of which will remain a secret until the moment the box hits the Assembly Line! The last three milestone Operation Gratitude Care Packages contained the keys to new Dodge or Jeep vehicles.
Stung by the recent Postal Service rate increase of ~10%, Bill Van Trump, Development Director, is encouraging supporters to donate funds to pay postage costs, rather than purchase items for the packages. "We have been extremely fortunate to receive very generous product donations from our Corporate Sponsors this year" explained Van Trump. "Our biggest needs now are funds and personal hand-written letters."
WHAT: Operation Gratitude 2008 Patriotic Drive
WHEN: May 17-18 and May 24-25
WHERE: California Army National Guard Armory
17330 Victory Boulevard; Van Nuys, CA 91436
Media and press are invited to attend all weekends.
Volunteers 12 years and older are welcome to participate at the Armory.
Financial Donations and Personal Letters should be mailed to:
Operation Gratitude
16444 Refugio Road
Encino, CA 91436
About Operation Gratitude
Operation Gratitude is the California- based 501 (c) (3) non-profit, all-volunteer organization that annually sends 100,000+ care packages of snacks, entertainment items and personal letters of appreciation addressed to individually named U.S. Service Members deployed in hostile regions such as Iraq and Afghanistan, and on military ships at sea. Its mission is to lift morale, bring a smile to a service member's face and to express to all troops the appreciation and support of the American people. For safety and security, all assembling of packages occurs at the Army National Guard armory in Van Nuys, California. Since its inception in March, 2003, Operation Gratitude has shipped more than 320,000 packages to American troops deployed overseas.
For more information, visit the website: www.operationgratitude.com
For video coverage, visit the OpGrat Channel on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/OpGrat
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