21 care packages. 8 grateful soldiers to start. Innumerable good feelings.

Heather Physioc

Whether or not you support the wars, supporting our troops is something I think we can all agree upon. Soldiers are far from home and far from their families for a year at a time. Several team members at PlattForm have friends and family members in the Armed Forces who are deployed to Afghanistan or Iraq. My husband, Luke, deployed to Afghanistan six months ago. This is his fourth overseas deployment.

Heather Physioc with her husband, Sgt. Physioc

As a military wife, I have learned about many of the struggles soldiers face when stationed far from home – especially when they are deployed downrange in combat zones. One of the greatest challenges our soldiers face while being deployed is the feeling of loneliness or fear of being forgotten by friends and family back home. They also feel as if they are missing out on all the great things happening back home. The best way to make these soldiers feel loved and involved is to keep in contact with them, and that includes the shipment of care packages from time to time and helping them find ways to pass the downtime.

PlattForm’s “Team Phil” philanthropic committee and team members at PlattForm banded together to collect gently used magazines, books and DVDs to send in care packages to U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan. When I arrived at the office to see piles and piles of donations to send to the soldiers, it was a truly touching and emotional experience to see how much PlattForm worked together to make such an enormous impact on soldiers like my husband. When your loved one sleeps on plywood in a tent with a dirt floor and no heat half the time in the mountains of Afghanistan, every small effort makes a difference in their deployment experience. One positive impact from us can carry soldiers for days on end. That positivity and focus is what keeps them going and brings them home.

21 care packages ready for shipping to Afghanistan

Together we collected 21 large boxes of books, magazines and DVDs and sent them to 8 soldiers in 6 different provinces in Afghanistan. PlattForm team members showed an incredible outpouring of support and generosity to make this effort possible and have touched so many soldiers’ lives as a result. Not only the 8 soldiers who received the shipments were touched by these care packages, though. The materials in these care packages were distributed to communal areas on the bases for all soldiers passing through to read and enjoy. The reading materials and DVDs we sent will reach many more soldiers that deploy to Afghanistan in the future. These care packages give the soldiers a taste of home, a connection to more recent news and entertainment stateside, and something to pass the time during long deployments.

Here are a few messages of thanks from soldiers who received care packages:

“This is SGT Hecht over in lovely Logar Province, Afghanistan. I just wanted to say thanks to you and your team for the mail we received over here. We all appreciated the stuff and will be spreading the love around the COP. Thanks for thinking of us. Thanks again everyone and we appreciate the thought of being thought of.” SGT Hecht

“I just wanted to thank you and your co-workers for sending us those thoughtful care packages. All the guys that are in our company (Bravo Co. BSTB) want to express our gratitude.” SGT Moorcroft

“From the Logar Province in Afghanistan, thanks so much PlattForm! I know my soldiers will all really appreciate it!” SGT Physioc