The holidays can be a difficult time for deployed Marines, Soldiers and other troops. For many of these young men and women, this will be their first Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday away from home and family. Others have spent multiple holidays away from home.
Operation Santa USMC began in late 2004 when Marine Corps moms, Deb Conrad and Connie Riecke set out to send packages to a platoon of 32 deployed Marines. Within a few short weeks, troop supporters from all over the country had joined the effort by sewing stockings, shopping for stocking stuffers and gifts, and organizing packing parties. That first year, we sent more than 6,000 filled Christmas stockings to troops deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan. We doubled that amount in 2005, and in 2006 over 17,000 deployed Marines and 300 National Guardsmen received Operation Santa packages.
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Today Operation Santa USMC continues to be our biggest project. We are constantly working towards the next holiday season in order to meet our goal to send packages to all deployed Marines. Our goal for 2007 is 25,000 Christmas stockings, filled with love by troop supporters at home and sent to our deployed troops. This would not be possible without supporters and donors like you.
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We need church groups, organizations, clubs, schools, youth organizations and employer groups to show their support by volunteering to sponsor platoons, fill holiday boxes, organize packing parties, sew stockings, make and sign holiday cards, and to help raise funds.
Volunteer today! It’s so easy and very rewarding to support our troops.
Volunteer opportunities include :
Corporate Sponsorships are available!
We plan to send approximately 25,000 Christmas stockings this year. Our total budget is just under $350,000 for the program. This includes the cost of stocking stuffers, other gifts, incidental project related expenses, and postage. MCFF has no paid staff or leased space, so administrative costs for this project are extremely low. If your business would benefit from a tax-deductible donation, please contact us. We will work with you to plan your level of sponsorship.
Current corporate sponsors include the following:
Morongo Band of Mission Indians - The Morongo Indian Tribe and the Morongo Casino made a major donation in 2006 to support Marines deployed from the base at 29 Palms in southern California. Their donation made it possible to send hundreds of stockings to deployed Marines from MAGTFTC-29 Palms.
Pony Village Mall in North Bend, OR - Kathleen and Paul Rudder, owners of the Pony Village Mall, have provided storefront space, hosted the kickoff BBQ for the Operation Santa 2007 for the southern Oregon coast, and donated white socks for the 3,000 Christmas stockings that will be sent from this area. The southern Oregon coast sent 19% of all Operation Santa stockings last year, and we very much appreciate the support shown by Kathleen and Paul Rudder.
If you are interested in we would be happy to work with you to plan your level of involvement.
Contact Us Today
If you'd like to help, e-mail us at operationsanta@marinecorpsfamilyfoundation.org
Email: riecke@marinecorpsfamilyfoundation.org or deb@marinecorpsfamilyfoundation.org. Or, contact us by phone. Connie can be reached at (503) 409-5905 . Deb can be reached at (541) 974-6948
Donations are needed & appreciated. MCFF is a non-profit foundation (501(c)3) . All donations are tax deductible.
Use Pay Pal - send your donations to donations@marinecorpsfamilyfoundation.org
or mail to:
Marine Corps Family Foundation
4000 Lancaster Drive- Suite 57
Salem, OR 97309Thanks to everyone who has volunteered time and funds - it's not too late to volunteer!
Updated September 24, 2006
Copyright 2005 Marine Corps Family Foundation. All rights Reserved.