BENTONVILLE — As volunteer coordinator of the Operation We Care program sponsored by the Knights of Columbus council at St. Stephen Church, Allen Crow believes in its mission to provide support in the form of packages of donated items to soldiers overseas, particularly those in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“I am just the mail guy. I take the generosity of the parish and box it up to send it on its way,” said Crow, whose father served in the Air Force for 25 years.
Taking up a challenge from Kelly Jarrett, a mother of two soldiers, the council initiated the program three years ago.
Jarrett, a member of the Army’s Family Readiness Group, said, “I called Trey Willis, the grand knight at the time, to ask for his help. This was a call of attention to the parish that we can’t forget this group too. The family unit — mother, father, brother, sister — churches, friends all play a very critical role in showing our support for the job the soldiers are doing.”
Both of her sons, Bobby and Curtis Kearney, are members of the Knights of Columbus at St. Stephen Parish and are currently serving in the Army. Bobby Kearney, now stationed at Fort Hood, Texas, served a year in northern Iraq in 2009 and Curtis Kearney is stationed in western Iraq, scheduled to return home in August.
Fred Rugel, volunteer coordinator in the beginning, organized the effort and named the program Operation We Care.
“We explained our program to the parish this way, ’Imagine being 2,500 miles from the nearest Wal-Mart. You just can’t go out and shop over there.’ We got their attention and a really good response as a result,” he said.
Since 2008 44 packages have been mailed to military members who are parish ioners or are family members of parishioners. The packages are sent out as donations come in from parishioners or local vendors. Suggested items include prepaid phone cards, sunscreen, DVDs, magazines, books, lip balm, candy, powder drink packets for bottled water, dried fruit, protein bars, hand sanitizer, aspirin, toothbrushes and dental floss.
“Beef jerky is a really big item over there,” Rugel said. “Living here in ’Vendorville’ (the town’s nickname because it is the location of many Wal-Mart vendors), we tapped the vendors quite regularly, including the beef jerky guy. Other popular items are the Febreze and fabric softener dryer sheets. The soldiers put them in their boots to control the ’stinky feet’ syndrome when the temperature over there hits 120 degrees.”
While serving in Iraq in 2009, Bobby Kearney said he liked to receive magazines.
“I consider myself a ’motorhead,’” he said. “I enjoy working on vehicles so it was nice to get the hot rod magazines in our boxes.”
Anthony Goines served in Mosel, Iraq, and received packages from Operation We Care during his tour of duty in 2009. Previously, his wife, Evette, had served in Iraq in 2006.
Anthony’s mother and a member of the parish, Rosemary Goines, said, “When our young soldiers were first sent to Iraq, there were a lot of random packages and cards that people wanted to send them. As the war has worn on, it seems not as much attention is called to the fact that there are still soldiers who need to know we love them, pray for them and care. I’m proud of the continued efforts that the Knights of Columbus have made in sending these packages .”
Anthony Goines will be returning to Iraq in January 2011 for his second tour of duty.
When Curtis Kearney returned home for a visit in November 2009, he took the opportunity to present an appreciation plaque on behalf of the 558th MP Company to the Knights of Columbus council and the parish.
During the presentation at Mass Nov. 9, Kearney received a standing ovation.
“I think for the parish it was a sense of pride,” Jarrett said. “Curtis told the audience what it meant to get mail and what it meant to know someone loved him. There was another round of applause and many more tears.”
In December 2009 his brother, Bobby Kearney, returned home after his deployment to present a letter and certificate of appreciation from the U.S. Army Freedom Team Salute to the parish. The letter from General George W. Casey, chief of staff, was addressed to the Knights of Columbus council and the parish for its participation in the Operation We Care program.
“When I was stationed in Iraq, we would have a rough day out in the desert and come back off a mission to find we had mail and a package,” Bobby Kearney said. “That was fantastic. So at the end of my deployment in Iraq, I got a bunch of thank you cards for everyone there to help me sign. Some 200 people signed these cards for the Knights and the parish.”
Msgr. Scott Marczuk, pastor of St. Stephen Church, said, “We want these soldiers to know that as members of our parish, they are in our prayers and thoughts. We are concerned about their physical and spiritual well-being. We want them to come home safely to us.”
For more information about the Operation We Care program, call Crow at (479) 366-1082 or contact him at alandlo@cox.net.
