OpGratKel

I have set myself a personal challenge to make 1% of all of the hats and scarves donated to Operation Gratitude in 2019. Last year we received more than 55,000 hats and scarves which means I would have had to make 550 of them to meet my goal.

This year we are hoping to double that number and that means that I will need to make more than 1,000 hats and scarves to complete my challenge!!

I do this for Operation Gratitude where I am the Director of Handmade With Love Programs.

Operation Gratitudes mission is to forge strong bonds between Americans and their Military and First Responder heroes through volunteer service projects, acts of gratitude, and meaningful engagements in communities nationwide.

HOW WE DO IT!

Every year, Operation Gratitude sends 400,000+ individually addressed Care Packages to Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen deployed overseas, to their children left behind, and to First Responders, New Recruits, Veterans, Wounded Heroes, and their Care Givers. Each package contains snacks, hygiene products, entertainment, and handmade items, as well as personal letters of support.

Through Collection Drives, Letter Writing Campaigns, Craft Projects, and Care Package Assembly Events, Operation Gratitude provides civilians anywhere in America a way to say “Thank You” through active, hands-on volunteerism.

Each package contains donated products valued between $45 and $100 and costs the organization $15 to assemble and ship.

Our goal is to include a handmade scarf or hat in every care package we send to our Deployed Troops, Veterans, and our Wounded Heroes and their Caregivers.