Timbers residents sew Christmas stockings for overseas servicemen

A group of nine Timbers residents spent an afternoon with needle in hand to create and sew Christmas stockings for overseas servicemen. The special holiday stocking project is organized by “Operation Support Our Troops-Illinois.”

As a part of the program, more than 6,000 stockings will be sent to overseas servicemen in order to provide holiday cheer from home. The Timbers of Shorewood, 1100 N. River Rd. Shorewood, IL, is also a drop off location for stocking stuffing contents. The deadline for finished stockings and contents is Thursday, Oct. 15, 2009.

Following is a list of items for stocking stuffing: mechanical pencils, 4 packs of AA and AAA batteries, mints and Christmas candy, candy canes, individual bags of nuts, individually wrapped Twizzlers, new CD’s and DVD’s, iTunes gift cards, small crossword and other puzzle books, and small toys such as yo-yo’s

Operation Support Our Troops has asked that sewers do not fill the stockings. That will take place in a warehouse at a later date.

There are close to 159,000 American servicemen and women deployed overseas in defense of America. Many of these troops are living in very difficult conditions with few, if any, comforts. Illinois ships approximately 120 boxes of packaged treats and toiletries per week from the Chicagoland area to servicemen and women primarily serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“We are most grateful for your support,” wrote a serviceman to Operation Support Our Troops. “We continue to be overwhelmed by the wonderful and encouraging support from so many back home.

Operation Support Our Troops-Illinois, Inc. was founded in 2003 by Deb Rickert, mother of a West Point cadet, as a branch of a national organization whose mission was to support the troops deployed overseas in Afghanistan and Iraq. Rickert began collecting donations of snacks, toiletries, and other creature comforts not readily available to the troops and sending boxes of these items using her dining room table as the base of operations. Operation Support Our Troops-Illinois, Inc. continues to be one of the largest volunteer-based military support efforts in the country and is funded solely by donations. Approximately 94 cents of every donated dollar goes toward Operation programs.

The Timbers of Shorewood is a rental retirement community which provides independent and assisted living apartments as well as a full schedule of activities and services.

For more information, call 815-609-0669.