Dianne Edmondson
Did you know that the July temperature reached 105 degrees in Cairo, Egypt this last summer? And do you know why Support Our Troops not only knows but also cares how hot it is 6912 miles from here in Robson Ranch?
The simple answer is: chocolate melts in hot temperatures!
And in 2018, SOT mailed literally thousands of donated Girl Scout cookies to US military installations around the globe, including one in Egypt. However, given those chocolate-melting summer temperatures in Egypt, the mailings to that location had to be postponed until cooler temperatures arrive. so that the cookies with chocolate arrive intact.
The cookies are carefully packed into shipping cartons by SOT volunteers, headed by Donna Chabot, Valerie Tarren and Sally Baggott, who fill all the carton’s nooks and crannies with other needed items such as jerky, gum and chocolate licorice. This project, which is immensely popular with the recipients, began some 13 years ago when Donna and a few others began sending soldiers a small box each month, raiding their own pantries. SOT took over the project as the recipient military personnel (all related to Robson Ranch residents) grew to 30 during the Iraq War.
Currently, more than 500 shipping cartons are mailed annually to military installations in Iraq, the waters near Syria, Afghanistan, Egypt, South Korea, Germany, Poland, Japan and Kosovo. Each carton is packed individually, and a prototype carton is packed to maximize its contents and then the other cartons for each shipment are duplicated. Each carton is sent via USPS military rate, which is $17.40.
Paying the Postage
This sweet project is totally funded by SOT through its annual fundraisers and one of its most successful events will be coming up next month: The Silent Auction which is held in conjunction with Veterans Day. The celebration of Veterans Day will be held at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday, November 10 at the Veterans Park between the Clubhouse and the Pro Shop. This patriotic tribute will include music and a flyover and will be followed by a choir concert at 11:00 a.m.
The exciting auction will include hundreds of tempting items, ranging from jewelry to artwork to wine baskets, which will conclude after the 7:00 p.m. choir concert. You will truly enjoy the day and evening and if you have items you’d like to donate to the auction, please contact at Darin Burk at 309-262-3137.