WAUSAU, WI (WSAU) — Customers and employees of the Peoples State Bank in Central Wisconsin helped collect over 7,700 items to be shipped to troops in Afghanistan this holiday season.
LeRoy Eades with the Rhinelander Military Support Group says the various socks, shirts, snack foods, and personal care items will be shipped next week in 28 boxes.
“I know firsthand how incredibly uplifting these packages can be, having received one from the Rhinelander Military Support Group while I was serving in Iraq. This is one small way that we can show our veterans and active military members that we appreciate everything that they do for our country,” said Craig Lau, vice president commercial lending at Peoples. “Our communities continue to impress me with their generosity.”
Eades added that for many this could be their first Thanksgiving or Christmas holiday away from home, so the care packages will be a welcome site. “They won’t be there for Christmas, [they won’t get to see] the trees, the stockings, you know. It’s a little something to ease [the feeling] of being away from home.”
Eades is working with a Military Chaplin in Afghanistan who will distribute the boxes to five different units.
In addition to the items, the bank also collected just over $670 cash which will be used to cover the shipping costs of the packages. The items were collected in a donation drive held from October 22 to November 13 in honor of Veterans Day.
The Rhinelander Military Support Group will continue accepting donations, as well as names of service persons to send care packages to. For more information contact the support group at 715-360-0433 or 715-362-2746.
