Far from home and engaged in a conflict they didn’t start, knowing that citizens at home are thinking of them can provide a boost to troops on NATO missions.<\/p>\n
It’s common practice for people in the US and Britain to send care packages to their troops but it’s something that hasn’t caught on as widely in Canada. Rick Thomas and Catherine Kahler hope to change that.<\/p>\n
They’re the force behind the Marching for Veterans Campaign, a Huntsville-based organization that began three years ago, gathering and sending shipments of care packages to troops overseas. Every three to four months they send care packages to a different locale, like Egypt, Iraq, Kuwait, and Latvia.<\/p>\n
“It’s a morale-booster for the troops,” says Thomas, a NATO veteran. “It’s not supplies that they need, it is additions to their supplies like toiletries, towels, underwear, socks, snacks, games they can play in their downtime. It’s all extras. Judging by the letters of thanks we have received back from the troops after each shipment, they really appreciate Canadians supporting them this way.”<\/p>\n
The Huntsville community was invited to show their support by dropping off items at MP Tony Clement’s office on King William Street. The response was wonderful, says Thomas \u2014 more than 20 boxes have been packed to send to troops. Thomas will drive the care packages down to CFB Trenton next week where they’ll be added to a service flight headed for Latvia.<\/p>\n
Among the items dropped off were dozens of letters and cards from students at Huntsville Public School, Riverside, and St. Mary’s. “It’s outstanding,” says Thomas. “That’s what the troops like to read and occasionally, if there’s a return address, the troops will write back.”<\/p>\n
After Marching for Veterans sent the first shipment to Egypt, they heard how grateful the troops were because until that point they’d been getting the leftover care packages sent to troops from other countries.<\/p>\n\n\t\t