I would like to recognize the great folks I work with at Mortgage Professional Group in Valparaiso; especially Sarah our processing manager. They came up with an idea to ship care packages to the troops overseas for the holidays and executed it well. I am really amazed in how quickly they were able to take this from the planning stages to taking boxes to the Post Office.
As of right now, they were able to ship a total of 49 packages and assist another group defray shipping costs on some of the 289 packages that they shipped overseas. In addition, we still have cash left that will be used to purchase and ship more items right after the first of the new year.
Sarah shopping at Wal Mart
Here’s what happened…
With Joe Wiszowaty, Paul Denesuk, and Sarah at the helm, the call went out for help. The group received enough snacks, toiletries, and other items to fill 28 boxes. Donations came in from local businesses, groups, and individuals thanks to numerous emails, a couple mentions in the local newspapers, and a few mentions at meetings of the Rotary and the Chamber of Commerce among others.
While we were able to collect a lot of gifts, we were a little short on shipping. I sent an email out to some of my friends and partners and got an incredible response. With the help of my friend and fellow investor Tony Severino, his wife Lisa, their awesome assistant Diane, Tony’s email list, and several other donors, we collected a very large amount of cash over just a couple days. This now meant that I had to go shopping with Sarah.
Sarah and the asst. manager at Wal Mart
Armed with a load of money to spend, we had to involve the assistant store manager at Wal Mart to order us items in case quantities. Not a bad problem to have really! This resulted in an additional 21 boxes being shipped from us.
Paul then received a call from Mike David who, along with Cherie Cope and her niece April, run Supplies for the GIs. They needed a small infusion of cash to ship some of the remaining 289 boxes (YES… 289 boxes) that they sent to the GIs for Christmas. Of course, we obliged.
Unfortunately, or fortunately, once everything was shipped at the end of last week, we found out that there is still money remaining. Looks like Sarah will be out shopping again after the holiday. Maybe she can find some really good sales…
I would personally like to thank everyone who participated in this project and commend all the folks at Mortgage Professional Group. I know a lot of time and effort went into making this happen. I cannot imaging the logistics that the Supplies for the GIs group has to deal with, but my hat is off to them also.
I’d like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a special THANK YOU to our servicemen and servicewomen here and abroad that won’t get to spend the holidays with their families.
You may not be here, but you certainly are not forgotten.
