Winter 2011 - Updates

December 2010

Hi Kristin,
My shop and I would like to say thank you from the bottom of our hearts for the dvd players. That was an awesome idea and it worked out great for us. That was one of the biggest gifts this shop has ever seen.
Thank you so much for your support OEF (Operation Enduring Freedom) of the Afghanistan campaign. Without supporters like you this would be a miserable tour of duty. It is very cold here now as we make our way into the winter months and we are preparing for Christmas and we wish you and all of those involved a Merry Christmas and a very happy New Year.
Thank You so much. This is our most recent picture of the whole unit.
Enjoy.

LCPL GLENN PAUL KENNEDY JR
AVIONICS W/C 670
AWP EXPEDITOR
"THROUGH PAIN COMES DISCIPLINE"

January 2011

Hey Kristen,
You guys really over did your selves on Christmas. Thank you so much for everything. My guys were so excited when we got those packages from you. Yesterday all we did was eat candy, play with the footballs and watch movies. They had a pretty good Christmas dinner for us here so we got fat and happy. LOL! I hope your Christmas was as good as ours. Yes we
were all away from our families, but we were still with the people we care about the. Sgt Salas said to tell you that he is so thankful to have received that IPOD, and he really didn't expect to get one. When I gave it to him, he just gave me a big hug and told me to tell you that you have an extraordinary group. You have been a blessing to me and my
guys here. I really believe that meeting you was a God thing and that there is a bigger plan behind all of this. Well anyways Thank you again from the Marines of W/C 670 in Afghanistan and we will keep you and your family in our prayers. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

LCPL GLENN PAUL KENNEDY JR
AVIONICS W/C 670
AWP EXPEDITOR
"THROUGH PAIN COMES DISCIPLINE"

LCpl Glenn Kenney (on the left)

January 2011

Hello Kristin,

We've received your holiday packages. WOW - a lot more than I or anyone else could have expected. From the games, clothing, books, magazines and newspapers down to the smallest piece of candy - the gifts you, your family, and your orginization have bestowed upon us is amazing. I cannot thank you enough for all of your time, effort and dedication.
As our Soldiers were going thru the boxes (smiling like little kids on Christmas morning) the most common question was "Who are these people and how do I thank them?" I attempted to explain to them what I knew of your organization thru past experience and your web sight. I can only hope that I did justice to your story and that they went away with a sense of understanding and appreciation.

I do want to take the time to wish a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and your family.
You have provided us joy and happiness during what could have been a tough time.


Thank You

CW3 Donald King

1/103d FA
Camp Virginia

February 2011

Hey Kristen,
I am getting
ready to depart the theatre soon so I just wanted to make sure you knew how thankful I am to have met you and thank you and everyone that contributed to my unit. We will never say that enough. You made our deployment go by faster and definitely a lot more fun.
From the Marines of MALS-16 AVI 670.
Glenn Kennedy Jr.
APO AE 09327

April 2011
Hello Kristin,

I received the package you sent yesterday, Thank You very much. The movies immediately went into the "rotation", the Kindles are going to be either gifted or prizes to deserving Soldiers (people much smarter than me will figure that out).
Many of us here are very excited about the baseball season starting - we are mostly Red Sox fans with a few Yankee and at least one Tiger fan (that would be me!) We are also closely watching the basketball and hockey playoffs; they provide a nice distraction from our day to day operations.
The weather here is heating up, we have broken 100 a couple times in the last week so we have that to look forward to.
The way it looks right now we should be home around the middle of August, of course that is subject to change.

Thank you again, the kindness and generosity of your family and organization is amazing.

Happy Easter to all of you.

Sincerely,

Donald
 

Christmas 2010 Packing Party

These are the stockings that we send. This year, we sent 1000 of them, full of candy, letters and surprises.	We have the greatest volunteers, sorting through the over FIVE THOUSAND letters you wrote! Thank you.
The kids in the family love to help out (for a little while!).	We were lucky enough to have a nice day so we could move some packing areas to the driveway.
Our little girls, helping out and showing their support. They love sorting candy.	The "stocking people" hard at work. The stuffing of the 1000 stockings take the longest amount of time. We like to make sure each stocking is full of great stuff.
Boxes getting full....	Volunteers sorting and packing
Stockings!	Box assemby is an activity in and of itself.
Hard at work	Our fabulous group of volunteers. Thanks everyone!!!
Our fabulous group of volunteers. Thanks everyone!!!

November 2010
Packages were sent to LCpl Glenn Kennedy.  We sent over portable DVD players, DVDs, headphones and carrying cases (pictures below).

n 4 weeks, we will be gathering to send out our largest shipment of the year.  We will be sending 1,000 stockings so everyone we are sending to has something special to open. These stocking are always a big hit.  What makes them special is that we put letters in each stocking.  We try to get at least 5 letters in each stocking.  That's where you come in!!  We need 5,000 letters!

 

Please take a moment to write a letter to a service member letting them know we're thinking about them, thanking them for their service and hoping for their safe return home. From what we hear every year, it is the most challenging time of the year for these men and women.  We know that a thoughtful letter from you will go a long way.  Many of you in years past have organized letter writing drives at your workplace, at your school, at your child's school and within your classroom.  These letters are fantastic!  Any letters or pictures made by children are wonderful. We would ask that teachers give specific instructions to children and have the picture relate to our troops - a flag, a service member, a child writing a simple "thanks". 

Please mail letters to:

Pack It Up

500 Randolph Ave

Milton, MA 02186