Support The Veterans This Holiday Season
by Rosa Colucci
December 16, 2024
As Christmas fast approaches and you look for the perfect gift, how about abandoning the store
and considering a gift to Operation Troop Appreciation?
Founded in March of 2004 by retired president Kristen Holloway. OTA was birthed to provide Under Armour® T-shirts to 38 members of Pa. National Guard Platoon, the seed quickly grew from that effort to meet the needs of deployed servicemen and women. By July of that year, they were a fully fledged non-profit fulfilling “wish lists” for deployed servicemen and women that included blanket and cold weather gear, healthy food, and powdered energy drinks and personal hygiene items.
Ten years ofter the original mission began, OTA recognized that a greater need was upon them when the Middle-East troop drawdown began in 2013 and veterans were returning to civilian life with considerable medical, physical and psychological challenges.
Many of them had spent considerable time in hospitals recuperating from severe injury while others were unable to make a smooth transition and wound up homeless.
While the Office of Veterans Affairs provides necessary medical care and housing. They provided none or very little allowance to actually fill the space with furniture and basic household needs. As a result, it was not uncommon to find an injured veteran placed in an apartment but sleeping on the floor.
To fill the needs gap, the “Welcome Home Program,” was created to provide a housewarming ‘kit’ that includes pots, pans, dishes, laundry supplies, towels, sheets, cleaning items, etc. This was covered for a donation at the $750 level. for just $250 more, a single adult veteran would also receive a full-size bed and mattress thanks to the generosity of several local businesses. (Further allowances are set for an adult couple or family of four.) Small donations are accepted and many people like to hold fundraising events to support them. The origination is 100 percent volunteer operated and maximizes every dollar to serve the nations veterans.
In-kind donations of new household items and some gently used, small furniture items are also accepted. In an effort to honor the service of their clients, they work to give items that are new or like new.
The program’s original mission is still very much intact with sponsorship programs, and wish lists to supply troops basic necessities and supplemental items.
It is amazing to think that one woman’s simple dream and charitable efforts have served more than 200,000 troops and Veterans in its 20-year history. Help your neighbor, help yourself, and give the best gift of all to a veteran this holiday season.
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