There's only a few days left to get your holiday item out to our overseas troops as Mary Scantilin will soon be mailing out her care packages as part of her "Good News for Soldiers" outreach project.
Mary Scantlin is a Pointe Royale resident who created "Good News for Soldiers" a few years ago as a way to support overseas troops. She and her growing volunteer base work to send out as many packages as possible—mostly at key holidays but randomly throughout the year as well.
For the December holiday season, Scantlin wants to send special gifts to the soldiers rather than the ordinary (although necessary) items like aspirin and wet wipes. If you are wishing to make a donation for the holiday care packages, use your imagination and think of something that would brighten the season, she suggested. Some examples are Christmas lights, candles, hot cocoa and marshmellows, afghans, Santa hats, CDs or DVDs, games, puzzles and chocolate. "They really crave chocolate and we can send it now that it's cooler and won't melt," she said. Gift donations are due by Friday, November 30.
Katrina Chapman, owner of the Book Nook on Hwy 90-A in the McDonald's center, is running a similar project this holiday season by offering cards for a reduced price of $1 to customers to write their own message to "any soldier." She has packaged up 52 cards so far but there is still time to add to the box! Chapman will mail out the boxes by December 4.
A flat rate box costs $9 to send so Chapman sells chocolate to raise mail money while Scantlin says donations are helpful. You can show your support by stopping by Chapman's store to pick out a card or by donating items, money, or your time to Scantlin's "Good News for Soldiers" outreach program.
And, if you know a New Territory resident serving in the military overseas, please pass on their name and information to Scantlin, she said. Scantlin's group recently met a soldier from New Territory who had received their packages and was on a short leave from a tour of duty in Iraq. "He brought cakes for us and I tell you it was hard to keep a dry eye as he thanked us profusely…" she said of their meeting with Michael Dinh Truong.
You can contact Scantlin at: spgndy@yahoo.com and Chapman at: nckj@alltel.net .
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