Every few weeks I bump into Lee Gardella, whose son is serving in Iraq with the military. Gardella is a tireless supporter of her son and the other troops over there. She runs marathons to raise awareness for a war that many of us forget about during our daily lives. She also spends countless hours organizing, collecting and mailing materials to soldiers she's never met before.Gardella gets a good bit of help from local individuals and businesses, but needs more. She's always looking for new things to send to the troops. She shared with me a letter she received back from a mail clerk in Iraq. He stressed to her how important those packages she sends nearly every week are to the men and women over there fighting a war that has become increasingly unpopular for most Americans.
Gardella could use your help and it won't take long. Just send her a letter that she can forward to the troops in Iraq. Something simple is fine. Thank them for the job they are doing over there. You can email your letter to her at ljgardella@gmail.com.
If you want to do more, she is constantly looking for items to send to the soldiers. They need sun screen, socks, DVDs, and non-perishable candy and snack items. She mails 2-4 large boxes a week to Iraq. Gardella even scavengers through CVS Pharmacy's trash for old magazines and sends them to the troops. CVS lets her have the outdated reading material after the front covers are torn off the magazines to make sure they're not used for resale anywhere.
