Kindred Communications Promotes Operation Soldier’s Christmas
Pamela Hall
The Ashland Beacon
“I’ll Be Home for Christmas” is a very popular song during the holidays. One of the reasons that it is so popular is that a lot of people can relate to wanting to be at home if they live away from other family members. Sometimes, it’s just a matter of distance as to why they can’t be home. For others, it may be that work schedules do not make it feasible to make the trip.
For deployed military personnel, it is both. They are serving in a foreign country for the sake of freedom for many across the globe. As a result, most are unable to make it home to their families due to distance and schedules.
In order to make Christmas a little brighter for our faithful and brave heroes who serve abroad, Kindred Communications has partnered with some local businesses for an event called Operation Soldier’s Christmas.
Operation Soldier’s Christmas is an event that invites Tri-State residents to make donations of items that are put into care packages sent to the soldiers. Local businesses partner with Kindred Communications as drop-off locations for the donated items. The items are collected from the drop-off locations and taken to Lexington to Military Missions, a nonprofit organization that sends the care packages to deployed soldiers, first to those that are most likely in harm’s way, then to others that are deployed around the world.
“Kindred Communications is honored to present this event,” said Mike Kirtner, owner and CEO of Kindred Communications. “We have done Operation Soldier’s Christmas for several years now and the results have been tremendous. Most years, we can barely fit all of the boxes of items into an empty cargo van to take to Lexington.”
The items that are collected are inexpensive, but some may be items the soldiers may not have ready access to. There are personal hygiene items, such as deodorant, cotton swabs, soap, shaving cream, and toothpaste to name a few. There are also snack items, such as peanuts, Vienna sausages, beef jerky, hot chocolate powder packets, and more. Items such as batteries, puzzle books, earbuds, ink pens, travel games, and playing cards are also very popular.
Local businesses that have partnered with Kindred Communications as sponsors are Dawson Thompson Oil, Mark Porter Auto, Young Signs, First National Bank of Grayson, 9th Street Diner, Bombshells and Ales, Bare Arms Indoor Range, Sal’s Italian Eatery and Speakeasy, Thornhill Automotive Group, Poppy’s Pizza, Jason Elkins State Farm, Paradise Pools, Go-Mart and Habitat for Humanity Restore.
Drop-off locations are participating locations of Clark’s Pump-N-Shop, Foodfair locations, Guardian Animal Medical Center, Members Choice Credit Union locations, Kentucky Farm Bureau in Grayson, and Kindred Communications.
“This is a great way for us to show our deployed soldiers how much we appreciate their sacrifice,” Kirtner said. “If they can’t be home for Christmas, let’s send a little bit of Christmas to them.”
Items may be taken to the drop-off locations through Dec. 10. Your donations will show our military that those at home remember them and support them.