A Community Sends ‘Hugs’ from the Midwest to the Mideast
Friday, November 06, 2009 — In Hutchinson, Kansas, the Reno County Chapter of the Red Cross has been sending “hugs” overseas for the past two years.
The chapter already provided emergency communication services between U.S. military personnel and their families, but they wanted to do more — and so began “Hugs from Home.”
In its first year, the Red Cross chapter collected toys that would be distributed to Iraqi children, such as soccer balls, footballs, baby dolls and bubbles. Boxes full of toys were shipped to U.S. service members in Iraq, who in turn gave them out to children while on patrol. In 2008, the Reno County Chapter collected over 714 pounds of toys.
The chapter then expanded the program to include care packages for the troops, which include items like playing cards, magazines, nonperishable food (candy), games, books and CD’s. This year the care packages are heading to Afghanistan.
After collecting items for a few months, the chapter holds a packing party, inviting service members’ families and local citizens to help sort items, package them and take the boxes to the post office. In addition to collecting toys for children overseas and items for troops, the public can also sponsor a box by donating the cost to ship it, around $12.
“This has been a great community program for our chapter.The guys who give up their families and time to defend our freedom are priceless, so this is the very least that we can do for them,” said Megan Gottschalk-Hammersmith, director of the Reno County Chapter of the Red Cross.
“We are not only showing that their families care for and support them, but also that their communities are thinking of them and their sacrifices have not gone unnoticed,” she said.
The city of Hutchinson has embraced “Hugs from Home,” with individuals, businesses, civic groups, schools and senior centers jumping on board to collect and donate items.The “Hugs from Home” program is supported entirely by donations from the community.
“It’s nice to know that so many people care enough to show it by making donations of toys, money, and their time for children in need so far away.I know that it will make an impact on the communities that these toys end up in,” said Gunnery Sgt. Nathan Alexander, who was deployed to Iraq in 2008 and helped to distribute the packages.
Read more about Red Cross support for military members, their families and veterans at RedCross.org.
About the American Red Cross:
The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies nearly half of the nation's blood; teaches lifesaving skills; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a charitable organization — not a government agency — and depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission. For more information, please visit www.redcross.org or join our blog at http://blog.redcross.org.
