The Rotary Club of Hillsborough, Operation Shoebox and the Hillsborough YMCA teamed up once again with community volunteers to host their 10th annual holiday packing event to assemble boxes of donated goods and holiday messages for military serving abroad.
Joining in the event on Dec. 10 as a major sponsor, was Magnate Worldwide, a diversified supply chain management company that provided both logistical and monetary support to Operation Shoebox.
“It must be particularly difficult for our troops to be away from family and friends during the holidays,” Ashley Rose, president of the Rotary Club of Hillsborough, said. “These snacks and toiletries are a welcomed touch of home. And, along with cards and letters from local community groups, including Girl and Boy Scouts, they remind our troops that we are thinking of them and appreciate their service.”
With the help of approximately 100 hundred community volunteers, 500 boxes were assembled in two hours at the Hillsborough YMCA and will be shipped abroad in time for the holiday season.
Rotary brings together a global network of volunteer leaders dedicated to tackling the world’s most pressing humanitarian challenges. Rotary connects 1.2 million members of more than 34,000 Rotary clubs in over 200 countries and geographical areas. Their work improves lives at both the local and international levels, from helping families in need in their own communities to working toward a polio-free world.
The Rotary Club of Hillsborough currently has approximately 40 active members from Hillsborough and surrounding communities. Members include business and professional leaders who provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and help build goodwill and peace in the world.
The Hillsborough Rotary serves the Hillsborough community. The Hillsborough Rotary Club meets the first and third Wednesdays of the month at 6:15 pm at The Landing Restaurant in Hillsborough.
Operation Shoebox New Jersey, based in Hillsborough, was founded in February 2005. It is an all-volunteer grass roots organization dedicated to collecting donated supplies and shipping care packages to U.S. troops based in Iraq, Afghanistan and other Middle East countries. Operation Shoebox seeks donations of food and personal care items that are placed in personal care packages shipped to members of the US military deployed overseas. Requested items include canned tuna, canned fruit, 1 oz. boxes of cereal, dried fruit, trail mix, granola bars, beef jerky, small bags of pretzels and chips, small tubes of
toothpaste, toothbrushes, small packets of moist wipes, soap, deodorant, small canisters of powder and small bottles of shampoo.