Student Contributor -J . Anderson
Operation Gratitude sends care packages filled with items donated by grateful Americans and service-friendly companies that want to express their support for Heroes 
serving overseas and here at home. Their goal is to bridge the civilian-service divide.
This organization was founded by Carolyn Blashek. She developed the idea from what she experienced by volunteering at the military lounge at Los Angeles airport. Blashek believed that troops must be certain that someone at home cares about them as an individual. She started her idea out as a local outreach program based from her living room and as time went on it became a nationally grown organization. The ultimate goal of the organization is to, “Forge strong bonds between Americans and their Military and First Responder heroes through volunteer services projects, acts of gratitude, and meaningful engagements in communities nationwide”. They achieve this goal by sending 300,000+ individually addressed care packages to send to all members of the military and emergency services. Each package contains snacks, hygiene products, entertainment, and handmade items, as well as personal letters of support.
Teachers and students can write letters, during their ELA portion of the class, that are for our service heroes. If able to the teacher can also set up a donation box and hand out a list of items that are accepted by the organization. The teacher would want to make sure the students know that the donations are optional and not expected.
