Volunteers tape up the packages to be sent.
/ Lindsey Theis
MURRELLS INLET -- More than 40 members of the community, many of them from Blue Star Mothers of Coastal Carolina, came together Sunday to pack 143 care packages to send to troops who won't be able to make it home for Christmas.
"Everybody has some kind of connection to the area, either it's a friend of a friend or a family member," says Carol Dion, Vice-President of the Blue Star Mothers of Coastal Carolina.
The packages were each hand packed, and no two were the same. This is the fifth time organizers had done the care packages this year, Dion says. They have the assembly line down pat.
Volunteers could choose from snacks, chewing gum, drink mixes, socks, tolietries, books and movies to include in the care packages. The only similarities between the boxes were the size, address envelope, and a candy filled stocking inside.
Veteran Adam Gale helped NewsChannel 15 pack a box for the reservist Carrie Lee. We didn't know that much about her, but that didn't matter. The challenge of stuffing as many snacks and goodies into a box as we could was a fun one, we even slipped in an extra chick flick and some lip gloss for her. And of course, a Christmas card, thanking her for her service.
"It's good to be on this end of it," Gale said.
The Blue Star Mothers say it costs about $2,000 in the boxes and shipping alone for the 143 individual boxes they will mail out in a few weeks. That doesn't include the donated food, snacks, books, candy, tolietries, etc.
Gale's mom is a Blue Star Mother.
"She's told me that they have been doing really well with donations this year," he said. "I can't tell how much on this end, we really appreciate it."
Click here to view several other Veteran's day stories.
