Boxes Galore!
It’s not everyday that I get four huge boxes filled with dozens of smaller little boxes delivered in my name to SLDN, but that’s what happened to me last week.
A month or so ago, a man from Chicago contacted SLDN asking about how to get involved in our work, and more specifically, how to show his support for our LGBT service members deployed in harm’s way. I spent quite a while on the phone with him, discussing how he could contribute to SLDN’s work and how to get involved with SLDN members active in Chicago. Then we moved on to the question of how to support our troops.
He asked about care packages, and I told him we’d be glad to forward a care package to a deployed client for him, since our confidentiality requirements prevent us from giving him the name and address of a client. I talked to him about the sorts of things that would be appropriate for a care package - no chocolate or other things that would melt, hard candy, lip balm and baby wipes are usually appreciated, etc. We finished up on the phone, and I thanked him for his interest in our work and in the people we serve.
A couple of weeks later, Erin, our front desk receptionist, came to tell me that a delivery had arrived for me and she needed somewhere to put it. I walked from my desk to the front office to find four large cardboard boxes from our new friend in Chicago. The stack of boxes was almost as tall as I am. I opened the boxes to see what was inside and found smaller packages filled with candy, treats, sudoku books, baby wipes, chewing gum, lotion – all manner of treats and diversions for our troops serving in harm’s way. In each box was a note expressing thanks to the service member for his or her service to our country, with an email address to write if there were other things the service member could use to make the deployment more bearable.
It was a Friday afternoon when the box arrived, and I couldn’t think of a better note on which to end the week. This week is ending pretty good too, as I mail out one of these packages to a client of mine serving in Eastern Europe as a peacekeeper. SLDN supporters want to support our troops – the troops that sacrifice so much to defend our freedom. And this is a very concrete and very generous example of that support.
- Sharon Alexander
A month or so ago, a man from Chicago contacted SLDN asking about how to get involved in our work, and more specifically, how to show his support for our LGBT service members deployed in harm’s way. I spent quite a while on the phone with him, discussing how he could contribute to SLDN’s work and how to get involved with SLDN members active in Chicago. Then we moved on to the question of how to support our troops.
He asked about care packages, and I told him we’d be glad to forward a care package to a deployed client for him, since our confidentiality requirements prevent us from giving him the name and address of a client. I talked to him about the sorts of things that would be appropriate for a care package - no chocolate or other things that would melt, hard candy, lip balm and baby wipes are usually appreciated, etc. We finished up on the phone, and I thanked him for his interest in our work and in the people we serve.
A couple of weeks later, Erin, our front desk receptionist, came to tell me that a delivery had arrived for me and she needed somewhere to put it. I walked from my desk to the front office to find four large cardboard boxes from our new friend in Chicago. The stack of boxes was almost as tall as I am. I opened the boxes to see what was inside and found smaller packages filled with candy, treats, sudoku books, baby wipes, chewing gum, lotion – all manner of treats and diversions for our troops serving in harm’s way. In each box was a note expressing thanks to the service member for his or her service to our country, with an email address to write if there were other things the service member could use to make the deployment more bearable.
It was a Friday afternoon when the box arrived, and I couldn’t think of a better note on which to end the week. This week is ending pretty good too, as I mail out one of these packages to a client of mine serving in Eastern Europe as a peacekeeper. SLDN supporters want to support our troops – the troops that sacrifice so much to defend our freedom. And this is a very concrete and very generous example of that support.
- Sharon Alexander
posted by SLDN at
4:03 PM
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