Make a
Difference Day on October 25,2008 at 10am. Take Exit 161 off
I-70 to the Army Reserve Center at 880
Commerce Parkway in Hays, Kansas.
|
How it all began...
Operation SOS
(Supporting Our Soldiers) was founded in 2002 by the mothers of several
Army
reservists deployed after September 11, 2001. The goal was to send boxes of
goodies to their sons and daughters, and then on to other soldiers that were
serving with them. This organization has grown over the last five years due to
the amazing contributions that have come in from people in our communities.
When Operation SOS
heard about National Make a Difference Day, we decided this would be a fantastic
opportunity to try and get the community involved in giving something back to
the brave men and women who serve our country. Being away from your family is
hard, but it is even harder around the holidays. We decided to set our initial
goal of sending 500 boxes to our troops overseas. At the time, it seemed out of
reach. It was going to cost upwards of $6,000 to send them, and we didn’t know
if that was a realistic goal or not. But once we set our minds to something,
there was no turning back!
We began fundraising
efforts with the help of many school and civic organizations within our region.
The response was amazing. Donations of items to go in the boxes came pouring
in, as well as monetary donations to help us ship the boxes. As we got closer
to the date of Holidays for Heroes, we were shocked to realize we had more
donations, both in the way of money and items to ship, than we needed. This
meant that boxes could be shipped throughout the next year, too!
On October 23, 2003,
over 200 people showed up at the HMC Wellness Center in Hays, Kansas to make a
difference. With all that help, it took only a short time to get the boxes
packed, sealed, labeled, and loaded. The event was a DEFINITE success and this
year, we are holding the 6th Annual Holidays
for Heroes on October 25, 2008. We have set our goal of 1,000 boxes again
this year.
We sincerely hope to
see you there!
To Learn More About Holiday's for
Hero's Click Here...
People
of all ages were involved in everything from pre-packing items into plastic
bags, to filling out custom forms and labels, packing the boxes and getting
them into the truck to take to the Post Office.