A group of volunteers in Plymouth will be packing Christmas stockings this weekend to send to wounded troops. It’s part of Operation Quiet Comfort, a nationwide organization that aims to honor and comfort members of the U.S. military who are sick or injured.
Plymouth resident Jan Houin is in charge of putting the organization’s care packages together. She says they plan to pack a thousand stockings this Saturday, “Those will be sent overseas. Some will go stateside to Walter Reed and Fort Belvoir where we have recovering troops.”
Houin says the stockings will include various items to make the troops a little more comfortable, “These stockings will be filled with a variety of snacks: some individual packages of trail mix and peanuts, and I think there’s some fruit chews and hot chocolate. So that will be part of it. The other part will have a phone card, hand and toe warmers, a pack of tissues, and each one of the stockings will also have a puzzle book, like a crossword or word search and a pen.”
She says Operation Quiet Comfort has already purchased or had the items donated, but they still need help paying for shipping, “We haven’t met our goal yet, and it costs a lot to ship these. We send them by the U.S. Postal Service. Donations are more than welcome. What we said in our fliers and our best estimate is it’s about ten dollars [to sponsor] one stocking, so that covers the cost of what we purchase to put in it – and believe me, we’re bargain shoppers, we do the best we can – but then also the cost for shipping.”
Houin also says they can still use help with the packing on Saturday, “We find a job for everybody. If it’s someone that needs a sit-down job, we’ll do that; if it’s someone that can lift heavy boxes, we appreciate that. Everybody can be a part of it, so anyone that wants to come is welcome.”
Packing will take place at 10:00 a.m. Eastern at 17671 13th Rd. in Plymouth. For more information, contact Jan Houin at 574-936-1424 or janh@operationquietcomfort.com, or visit OperationQuietComfort.org.
