January 24, 2008

Operation: Care and Comfort to ship ‘Bear Hugs’ to U.S. troops

Operation: Care and Comfort, an all-volunteer military care package program, is teaming with Operation Gratitude to ship 210,000 special “Bear Hug” gifts to U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan for Memorial Day.

This online campaign, dubbed “Bear Hug a U.S. Soldier,” began in mid-January. For $1, you can help send a specially packaged bear to our troops. An additional 90,000 “Bear Hugs” will be distributed to patients in Veterans’ hospitals throughout the United States.

David Hamblett, a retired East Coast businessman, developed and financed this campaign. His goal is two fold—to get a “Bear Hug” into the hands of every service member in Iraq and Afghanistan, and to raise $1 million for Operation: Care and Comfort and Operation Gratitude.

Operation: Care and Comfort's program invites members of the community to use their time, talents and treasure to show our troops serving in harm’s way that they are not forgotten.

"Our program's strength is in the fantastic volunteers who have come forward to help in all areas, including fundraising, product donation drives, letter writing campaigns, etc. We are included in the Department of Defense America Supports You program, so folks all over the country contact us with questions regarding supporting our troops" said Julie DeMaria, co-founder of Operation: Care and Comfort.

“Through the efforts of so many great citizens like Dave, we have sent care and comfort to tens of thousands troops who volunteer to serve our country. Sending this special “Bear Hug” is just another way folks can say thank you for your service!”

With the help of the U.S. Navy, U.S. Post Office and volunteers, Operation: Care and Comfort will package and mail 140,000 “Bear Hugs” on Saturday, April 5 in San Jose. Information including campaign details, product specifications and donation information is available at www.bearhugaussoldier.com.

About Operation: Care and Comfort
Since April 2003, the all-volunteer Operation: Care and Comfort program, unique to the Santa Clara Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross, has shipped 350,000 pounds of care packages for distribution to Marine, Army, Air Force, Navy and Coast Guard personnel deployed in conflict regions. Adopted military units receive care packages monthly, until they return home. Operation: Care and Comfort is a member of the Department of Defense “America Supports You” program. For more information on how to support this program, visit: www.operationcareandcomfort.org.

About American Red Cross Santa Clara Valley Chapter
The American Red Cross Santa Clara Valley Chapter is a nonprofit, humanitarian organization that depends on the generous contributions of time and money from Santa Clara Valley residents and companies to help the community prevent, prepare for and respond to emergencies. For more information on disaster preparedness, health and safety classes, volunteer opportunities, and financial contributions, visit www.santaclaravalley.redcross.org.