I love to shop! People who know me won’t be surprised to hear that. I’ve almost made it my job. I’m in marketing and we get to buy a lot of fun things for events, etc. I love a deal, I like buying in bulk and I was finally able to put it to good use by spending money we raised to buy goodies to send to the troops serving our country.
In June we participated in a “mud-run” event, and all of the participants raised $100+ to buy supplies to send care packages overseas. The mud-run was the hardest thing I’ve ever done and I can cross that off my bucket list, but the cause was the real reason for my participation. And we raised over $2000!
Now the fun part begins! What do we get? What would they like? We didn’t want to send borrowing necessities, we wanted some things that are harder to find and would be more enjoyable for our soldiers. After reviewing lists and talking to those who had served before we decided to send beef jerky, granola bars, DVD’s, batteries, powdered drink mixes, candy and wet-wipes.
Shopping day finally arrived. We went to a warehouse store and started gathering supplies for these care packages. Armed with cash and our lists, 3 of us went in and filled several shopping carriages and checked out in under an hour!
We bought over 900 batteries, 500 individually wrapped slim jims/beef jerky’s, 800 granola bars, 2000 pieces of candy and more! Our goal is to send over 150 individual packages overseas. Our employees took time to write letters and cards to our servicemen and women thanking them for their sacrifice and honor in protecting our freedoms!
I’m so proud to have played a role in making this program happen. I’m glad my shopping skills have finally been put to good use. More importantly, a huge thank you to everyone who helped make this program a success, and much gratitude to the men and women who faithfully serve our country every day!
