Victorville Employees Show Generosity to Soldiers Overseas

Strategic Insights -

A group of city employees in Victorville, led by Patricia Tamasin and Francene Millender, created the "Santas for Soldiers" program to send care packages to soldiers in Iraq and Korea. The response from their coworkers has been overwhelming, with 230 personalized care packages being sent to soldiers, some with gifts worth up to $100 each. The program was initiated after Tamasin's daughter noted that many of her fellow soldiers were not receiving any packages from their families, and employees were eager to help make their time overseas more bearable.

Key Takeaways:

  • The "Santas for Soldiers" program was created by Patricia Tamasin and Francene Millender to send care packages to soldiers in Iraq and Korea, after Tamasin's daughter noted that many of her fellow soldiers were not receiving any packages from their families.
  • The program received an overwhelming response from Victorville employees, with 111 participating in the effort.
  • Personalized care packages were sent to 230 soldiers, some with gifts worth up to $100 each.
  • Employees included a variety of items in the care packages, such as gum, lip balm, playing cards, and Hickory Farms snacks.
  • Some employees even visited contractors at the Foxborough Industrial Park to solicit donations, with one woman pledging $100 a soldier for 60 soldiers, including an MP3 player for each.
  • The program has been encouraged by its founders, who note that employees "just went shopping and had fun" while participating in the effort.

Statistics:

  • 230 personalized care packages were sent to soldiers in Iraq and Korea.
  • 111 Victorville employees participated in the "Santas for Soldiers" program.
  • Gifts worth up to $100 each were included in some of the care packages.
  • Employees included a total of 10,300 items in the care packages.
  • Psychologist Loma, formerly of Delano, manned a phone bank contacting Victorville businesses for donations for the soldiers.