TSAC: Sending sundries to soldiers

A veterans support group would like to send Superman, Luke Skywalker, Monty Python and Maria Von Trapp to troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Troops Support Action Committee is collecting new and used DVDs to send to GIs overseas. The all-volunteer group consists of about 15 members who collect and distribute items for the benefit of troops in combat zones.

TSAC started in 2003 as an informal group on the local Pinecam website. Hundreds of residents from Bailey, Conifer and Evergreen log in daily to the popular website, including the Yellow Ribbon Lounge, the place where TSAC members meet electronically.

Mike Quaintance, co-chair of TSAC, remembers his days as a Navy fighter pilot in the Vietnam War and the importance of the small things sent from home.

“If you didn’t get it from your family, you didn’t get it,” Quaintance said.

To date, the group has collected and shipped 16,000 pounds of sundries to various units. TSAC sent 11 boxes on Oct. 12 to a Colorado National Guard unit in Iraq.

Quaintance said the next shipments to Iraq will be the donated DVDs that will be shared among the members of the unit.
“People here have DVDs that have been sitting around and haven’t been watched in a long time,” Quaintance said. “Those would be highly prized by the troops.”

Quaintance said most troops have small portable DVD players or computers, so it’s easy for them to watch movies during their down time. DVDs will be sent to Iraq as long as they are not offensive to the Iraqi culture and have no explicit sexual content.
Permanent collection boxes have been set up at the north door of the Conifer Safeway and at the main door at the Conifer King Soopers. Donations are collected every few days.

“It’s very kind of King Soopers and Safeway to let us place the donations boxes,” Quaintance said.
Last Saturday at the stores, volunteers handed out fliers with preferred items listed, and shoppers donated goodies such as chewing gum, lip balm and popcorn.

“The generosity of our mountain community is unbelievable,” Quaintance said, “especially with the hard times we’re in.”

TSAC collected about five full shopping carts of items and a significant amount of cash. The cash is spent on shipping costs. Once the items are collected, they are placed in a storage locker, and every few weeks, volunteers get together to sort and pack.
The group uses flat-rate and Priority Mail boxes that allow senders to stuff as many allowable items into the package and ship it at a set rate. For $10.95, the group can send almost 20 pounds of lightweight items in a single box.

Quaintance said he spoke with a returning Iraq war vet who had received one of the cookie care packages that TSAC sends each year. Quaintance asked if the cookies had arrived unbroken, and the vet told him: “We didn’t care if they’re in tiny crumbs. We would have eaten them anyway.”

In addition to the DVD project, TSAC volunteers are gearing up for the annual cookie bake starting at 10 a.m. Nov. 8. TSAC is getting together 10 to 15 interested people to mix and bake Christmas cookies. The cookies will be sent to a Colorado National Guard unit in Iraq. The field artillery unit has approximately 450 soldiers, and 25 of the soldiers are women.

Besides DVDs, TSAC collects lightweight items such as snacks, gum, candy, paperback books, hand wipes, toothbrushes, toothpaste, shampoo and feminine products for women.

TSAC also takes requests in the form of troops’ wish lists. The wish lists are varied, and TSAC has had requests for everything from socks to rifle bore cleaners, George Foreman grills to hot sauce. Religious items and alcohol cannot be sent.

TSAC has received pictures of the troops opening the packages and thank-you gifts from the troops. To show their appreciation, troops have sent TSAC five American flags carried in combat. Quaintance said a Colorado flag signed by the members of the troop was sent as a thank you.

Quaintance said the volunteers are happy to do things for the troops, and they’ll keep collecting and sending to those who serving are far, far from home.

“When the troops all come home we’ll close up the locker, and we’d be happy to shut the operation down,” Quaintance said.

Box:
Donations can be sent to:
TSAC
P.O. Box 1033
Bailey, CO 80421
To volunteer for the Bake-A-Thon, go to the website: www.pinecam.com and enter the Yellow Ribbon Lounge. Members of TSAC will have the TSAC logo on their posts.