The Catskill Chronicle

Story and photos by Carol Montana

Four or five weeks ago, NY State Assemblymember Aileen Gunther and her staff decided to have a holiday open house. It would also be a great time, they realized, to collect items for Operation Support Our Troops, a nationwide effort to send boxes of goodies and personal items to military personnel stationed overseas.

Lots of invitations were sent out and lots of people pitched in to help including Barbara Strong, a teacher from Benjamin Cosor Elementary School in South Fallsburg. “Sandy Vanderzell and I talked about sending out a letter that asked in lieu of gifts for us that the children participate [in this effort],” said Strong, “and one of my aides did the same thing, asking us not to give her gifts, but donate instead to this cause.” Several other teachers and teacher’s aides hopped on board, and Strong said that several of the correctional officers from/ Woodbourne Correctional Facility participated as well. 

At the actual open house on December 14, piles and piles of items were on display in the lobby of Gunther’s office in Monticello.

As guests arrived, they contributed boxes and bags to the collection and then hob-knobbed with neighbors and friends, enjoying food and drink, and even some entertainment courtesy of Stacey Cohen and her guitar.

Items collected included personal items like: toothpaste, tissues, deodorant, shaving items, lip balm, and entertainment and food items including: books, CDs, DVDs, envelopes, pens and notepaper, magazines, instant noodles, pudding, energy bars, plastic zip-lock bags (to keep the sand out), lemonade mix, beef jerky, batteries and candy, and so much more.

Gunther also mentioned that her office is collecting names of military troops serving overseas, “if anyone in the assembly district I serve has a child serving oversees, we’d love to send them a special package. Please let us know if they have special likes or dislikes, or allergies. In Sullivan County and surrounding areas, contact her at 794-5807or click here to contact Gunther through her Web site.

Once collected, the items have to be sorted, packed and shipped. And that’s where Stephanie Johnson comes in. Representing Operation Support Our Troops, Johnson (pictured with Gunther in photo at left) has been a military mom since 2002, when her son Erik became a member of the first West Point class following 9/11. “I’ve been packing boxes for the troops for quite a few years,” said Johnson. “We’ve sent over 20 tons of care packages.” She and her helpers send packages all year long to “to local kids, friends of local kids, family members … it’s a way to build up their morale, especially at the holiday times when their morale takes a little dip because they’re really missing being home with their family.” Johnson’s son, a captain in the army just returned from deployment in Iraq. He’s now stationed in Missouri, as is his sister Jennifer Johnson, who is a doctor.

The items get boxed up, and taken to the post office. “Each box is sent to an individual soldier,” says Johnson, “but each soldier shares their box with other soldiers, so we put several of the same item in each package.”

Johnson explains that each box is handled four or five times, “so it’s an intense labor of love. Each box weighs 20-35 pounds, so Johnson is asking for donations to help defray the cost of postage. Contact Gunther’s office for additional information on donating.

Of all the items collected, there is one thing that the soldiers want more than anything else, and it’s also the most difficult to collect. “The hardest thing for us to get is for people to put pen to paper and write a note,” says Johnson. “ ‘Dear Soldier, we appreciate your sacrifice and thank you for all that you’re doing.’ ” Johnson says that it’s hard for people to express their feelings. “I challenge each and every one of your readers to do that – write a letter, send it to Aileen’s office and we’ll forward them on – every month of every year, we have been sending packages. As long as there are troops overseas, we’ll send packages. This is a heartfelt thank you – write what you think a soldier would want to hear.”

You can send your Dear Soldier letter care of Assemblymember Aileen Gunther, District Office, 18 Anawana Lake Road, Monticello, NY 12701.

To view more photos or to purchase prints from Open House for the Troops visit The Catskill Chronicle on Zenfolio.