Peggy Revell
They may not be home for the holidays, but Canadian troops in Afghanistan will be getting a bit of the Christmas spirit from home thanks to care packages being put together by the local Legion ladies’ auxiliary.
“It’s just nice to let them know that we’re thinking about them and we give them support,” said auxiliary president Sylvia Gunderson.
The auxiliary has been accepting donations for the past few weeks to put the care packages together, with Gunderson noting the response from the community has been “absolutely wonderful.”
With the deadline for donations being today (Dec. 3), the auxiliary now plans to go through all of them and put together the care packages tomorrow evening.
“Instead of putting them in boxes, we found that nice Christmas bags were easier to pack and less weight,” Gunderson explained.
“So whatever we have, we will divvy it up and make as many bags as possible, and then we send it out and then it goes overseas . . . and just hope they enjoy it.”
When the Legion did this two years ago, it was able to send out 20 care packages, Gunderson noted.
Personal cards are not allowed to be sent as the auxiliary does not know which Canadian troops the care packages will be going to, she added.
“But we do have a card put in and we say it is from the Legion Br. #29 and the townspeople of Fort Frances,” Gunderson explained.
“The last time we sent them out, we got a really nice letter back.”
The auxiliary has been collecting items like wrapped candy, lip balm, playing cards—even Kraft dinner—to send in the care packages.
“They’re over there, they’re away from home for Christmas, and it’s kind of nice to get a gift from somebody out of the blue,” said Gunderson.
“We feel that we should support our troops,” she stressed. “I know a lot of people think they shouldn’t even be over there, and maybe they shouldn’t, but we are the Legion and I think there are a lot of veterans that are, well, they were over there, and they want to support them, too.
“Everybody has been really, really generous,” Gunderson added. “But then, they always seem to be very generous towards the Legion.
“Everybody seems to just give us overwhelming support with anything we do.”
