MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan -- Marine Corps Family Team Building hosted Operation: Comfort and Care collections in front of the Marine Corps Exchange, Commissary and the southside Marine Mart here Nov. 2-4, 2012.
They also spent several hours on Nov. 6, packaging the collections made from the previous days.
Operation: Comfort and Care afforded station residents an opportunity to give forwarddeployed servicemembers items such as hygiene gear, food, entertainment items and other miscellaneous products.
“We are out here collecting donations and a list of items is provided,” said Ben Singleton, MCFTB director. “It is for deployed servicemembers, who are currently in Afghanistan. Once all the items have been collected, we will ship them out.”
Station residents who donated items had two options, they were able to donate to all forwarddeployed servicemembers or they could write specific names and addresses.
The names and addresses provided will receive care packages directly. After volunteers boxed up the specified servicemembers’ care packages, they packed and shipped the remainder of the items to deployed units. It will then be up to the units to distribute the items received.
“Hygiene products are very big,” said Singleton. “Foot powder, baby wipes, deodorant and things like that are most common. Also food products, a lot of people have donated beef jerky, gum and powder drinks.”
Many servicemembers from units all over the station volunteered their time to collect and package donated items.
The volunteers who worked four hours or more throughout Operation: Comfort and Care will receive a Letter of Appreciation as well as volunteer hours.
“I think it is good that we help out because when you are deployed, you get stressed and you want to know that there are people who care about you and want to help you out while you are in that situation,” said Lance Cpl. Joanna Reynoso, Operation: Comfort and Care volunteer and Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 12 administrative clerk.
According to the Operation: Comfort and Care website, volunteers sort, package and mail care packages, which, throughout the United States and bases overseas, equal up to 20,000-pounds worth of donated items.