CRAIG ADAMS
Times Correspondent

LANSING | Christmas in September? It's not too early to think about Christmas if you're trying to provide care packages for 5,000 American soldiers.

"Our motto is 'Let no hero be forgotten'," said Debbie Smothers, one of the founding members of Operation Care Package.

Smothers and a friend started the foundation in March 2003 as a way to get mail to soldiers who didn't receive anything from home. It has grown into a full-time project and just recently moved from Smothers' home.

"We have an office in the Will County Farm Bureau," Smothers said. "Country Insurance is paying our rent."

It's not surprising things were hectic at Smothers' home. Operation Care Package averages 100 boxes a week sent to soldiers. Last Christmas, they sent out about 3,000. They want to raise that number to 5,000 this year.

However, Smothers and her partners, including Shari Sanders-Maher of Lansing, need a lot of help. They recently held a fund-raiser in Lockport that raised $18,000, Sanders-Maher said, "Now we need help with supplies."

The organization has two local drop boxes; one at the VFW hall at Torrence Avenue and Ridge Road, the other at SGS, 17749 Torrence Ave.

"We need canned fruit, phone cards, beef jerky, hearty canned soups, batteries, men's work socks," Smothers said.

Besides store-bought items, she is also looking for more personal contributions. "We're looking for school-aged kids to write Christmas cards," she said. "Soldiers love reading the kids' letters." Sanders-Maher added a few more items to the list: "cameras, puzzles, handheld games, handmade ornaments." The organization is especially looking for Christmas ornaments that contain picture frames, she added.
The group will need the donations by Nov. 10 to get the packages to the soldiers around the world in time for Christmas.

"We send to Afghanistan, Kosovo, Korea, Germany, Uzbekistan, and some guys in the states if they need support," Smothers said.

To that end, the group is still looking for names of servicemen who don't regularly receive mail from home. "We are always looking for a soldier in need," Sanders-Maher said. "We're trying to help as many servicemen as possible."

That help has also attracted some national attention. Operation Care Package recently received the Chapel of Four Chaplains Legion of Honor Award. The story of the Four Chaplains stems from the sinking of the troop transport ship Dorchester in 1943. Four chaplains on the boat, a Catholic priest, a Jewish rabbi and two Protestant ministers, were handing out life jackets when the supply ran out. They removed their own jackets, gave them to four enlisted men, and were later seen going down with the ship while praying together.

President Truman later dedicated the Chapel of the Four Chaplains, and its founders now recognize service to humanity with the Legion of Honor Award.

Although the award is very prestigious, "That's not why we do this," Smothers said. This undertaking is very personal to the women. Sanders-Maher explained, "My sister is in Baghdad as we speak. I have two sons who are Marines, and my daughter-in-law is a Marine."

Besides the material goods for the packages, people can also donate money.
Postage runs $7.70 per box, Smothers said.

The group's Web site is
www.operationcarepackages.org. (Please note the "s" on "packages.")

The site also sells many items, with the money going to help send out packages. "We have patches that go on the back of jackets, we have magnet -- we even have PayPal," Sanders-Maher said.

Besides the two Lansing drop boxes, donations may be sent to either 611 Wilcox St., Joliet, IL 60435, or P.O. Box 1122, Joliet, IL 60434.

Time to think about Christmas for the troops
Operation Care Package aims to serve 5,000
This story ran on nwitimes.com