Military Missions to send Easter boxes to service members

LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) – A group in Lexington, Kentucky is putting Easter boxes together for service members who are away from loved ones this holiday to remind them they are appreciated.

Mark Roland, board member and office volunteer at Military Missions, reads a letter from a group of thankful service members in 2019. “‘I just wanted to thank you for all of the packages that were delivered to our unit recently,’” reads Roland.

They are grateful words from a unit deployed in Afghanistan in 2019, just one example from hundreds of thankful letters sent to Military Missions.

“I know what this means to the folks that are deployed down range,” says Mark Roland, a board member and office volunteer at Military Missions. Roland is also a 30-year air force veteran.

A box can be a reminder of home, but filling those boxes has become a struggle.

Roland says, “You know, a bag of candy or some snacks that don’t come in a package of MREs makes a huge difference.”

This organization does this all with donations and volunteers. One group of ladies who are part of a Philanthropic Educational Organization helped to make it happen.

PEO member Joyce McKinney says it’s personal because her minister has a son who is deployed, and her father served in the military. She says, “Many of us in PEO have had people, relatives or sons, daughters, parents, who have been in the military, so they know how meaningful this is.”

Roland says the taste of home means the world to them and lets them know they are appreciated.

He says a donation to any similar organization can help troops know they’re cared for by those at home. For more information, you can visit militarymissions.org.