Community Corner

VFW Post 6695 Ladies Auxiliary 'Adopts' Michigan Reserve Unit

VFW Mayflower Lt. Gamble Post 6695 Ladies Auxiliary will ship toiletries and other donated items to Michigan soldiers serving in Afghanistan.

On Saturday, members of 's Ladies Auxiliary will meet at 2 p.m. to assemble care packages for soldiers on duty in Afghanistan.

Nancy Dignan, the auxiliary's junior vice president and chairwoman of the project, said the post recently adopted the U.S. Army's Michigan-based 785th Military Police Battalion, which was sent to Afghanistan earlier this year.

To show support, auxiliary members agreed to send care packages to the battalion, starting this week. "We mostly need donations," Dignan said. "Hopefully we can get enough donations where we can do this once a month."

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The auxiliary, which celebrates its first anniversary this month, is devoted to activities supporting active-duty soldiers as well as veterans. The care packages cost as much as $12 to ship but the contents are priceless to the deployed soldiers, according to an email from the 785th's spokeswoman, Deborah R. McGinnis, to Dignan, which outlined what donations are appropriate.

"Letters, cards and notes — they mean more than anything else they receive. It doesn't cost you anything to say, "Thank you for serving," McGinnis wrote. She included a list of suggested items that will help the soldiers feel more comfortable so far from home.

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Donations can be dropped off at the VFW Post 6695 hall, 1426 Mill St., Plymouth after 2 p.m. today, Saturday, or during any meeting of the auxiliary or the VFW or Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 528's membership or board meetings.

The boxes "will be shipped on a continual basis as donations are accumulated," Dignan said, adding that money can also be donated to support mailing costs or to purchase supplies in bulk. She said the care packages will continue to be sent for as long as the 785th is deployed.

List of needs

  • Batteries, both AAA and AA
  • White long socks
  • Baby wipes
  • Books (mystery, western and books that were made into movies)
  • Toothbrushes
  • Toothpaste
  • Shaving cream
  • Razors
  • Soap
  • Powdered drink mix
  • Canned goods that don't require a can opener
  • Beef jerky
  • Snack foods (individual packs) like peanuts, sunflower seeds, crackers, Cracker Jacks, etc.
  • Travel-size hand sanitizer
  • Personal hygiene items
  • Toilet paper
  • Moist flushable wipes
  • Hand or foot warmers (for winter months)
  • Gold Bond foot powder
  • Power bars, granola bars, cereal bars
  • Handheld games, crossword and word puzzle books.
  • Magazines
  • Movie DVDs
  • Microwave popcorn
  • Soccer balls, Nerf balls, Frisbees, etc.


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