Click here to view a local news story and video of the packing!
Our October 29th pack day was one to remember. More than 100 volunteers came from all over the country to pack nearly 962 care packages alongside Purple Heart Marine Gunnery Sergeant Nick “Gunny Pop” Popaditch. Gunny Pop spoke to the group before the packing began to thank the volunteers for their hard work in assembling the packages and to remind them how important it is for the public to send our troops “a little piece of home.” After the speech Gold Star mom Sandy Deraps said a little prayer and the packing began.
Marine moms, dads, siblings and supporters in addition to a student group from the local university worked efficiently to get the packages filled to the brim and shipped off that day. Special items included Ziploc bags of Twinkies and a birthday candle, napkin and note in celebration of the Marine Corps birthday on November 10th. Also included in the packages were cigars, Olive Drab T-shirts and Hormal turkey dinners for Thanksgiving.
Towards the end of the packing, Gunny Pop stepped away from the assembly line to sign copies of his book “Once a Marine” for Marine families and supporters. Many parents of deployed Marines wanted a copy addressed to their child.
Other volunteers took a break from packing to shop in our EGA store. Pack days are one of the few opportunities we open the typically online-only store so that shoppers can see and touch the items in person. We also raffled off two sets of Marine Corps patio chairs. The proceeds went towards MarineParents.com outreach programs.
We’d like to thank all of our dedicated volunteers who attended the pack day, as well as our supporters who contributed to the Birthday Box Campaign to ensure that we filled the boxes with new T-shirts and turkey dinners for the Marines. The pack day couldn’t have been more of a success…thanks to all who gave their time, energy and spare dollars back to the men and women defending our freedom overseas!
Click here to read about the MarineParents.com Outreach Dinner with Gunny Pop that followed the pack day.
