Help prepare care packages for soldiers Sunday, Aug. 11.
Writer
Katherine Foran-
At the Missouri State Fair, 4-H’ers will be packing ‘Boxes for the Brave’ care packages for Show-Me State soldiers stationed overseas. The public is invited to help out on Military Appreciation Day, Sunday, Aug. 11.
SEDALIA, Mo. – Handmade thank you cards along with personal care products, snacks, energy drinks, socks, decks of playing cards and much more will be headed to 250 Missouri soldiers stationed overseas later this month thanks to 4-H’ers at the Missouri State Fair in Sedalia.
As part of the Missouri State Fair’s Military Appreciation Day, Sunday, Aug. 11, Missouri 4-H will host a special Boxes for the Brave packing event in the 4-H Building from 10 a.m. to noon.
Everyone is welcome to help out, said J. Clay Hurdle, University of Missouri Extension 4-H state specialist in leadership and civic engagement. Materials for making cards and sending messages of gratitude will be available all day until 5 p.m.
“We are always looking for ways to involve youth in experiences that matter. At the same time, we wanted to do something that recognized the sacrifices and service of our Missouri soldiers who are stationed overseas,” Hurdle said. “A care package packing event seemed like a perfect answer.” Thanks to funds through the Missouri AfterSchool Network, Hurdle and 4-H colleagues Megan Kershner and Jillian Gerlach planned the event.
Kershner said 4-H’s past participation in Missouri Farmers Care food packing events provided a great blueprint, though sending care packages overseas involves logistical planning at another level. Mailing regulations require boxes to be sent directly to individual soldiers. The Missouri National Guard helped by matching 4-H with individual soldiers from Missouri.
The National Guard also shared recommendations on care package items. “Oreos are all-time favorites!” Gerlach said. Once all the boxes are packed, fair visitors will still be able to decorate cards and send messages of thanks that will be added to the packages before they are sealed and shipped.
“Volunteerism has always been a cornerstone of 4-H’s success,” Hurdle said. “Boxes for the Brave seems like a great way to show the deeper importance of volunteerism, inviting everyone who visits our building to spend a few minutes remembering with gratitude those who serve our country.”
The packed boxes will come back to the MU campus, where college interns — former 4-H’ers themselves — will prepare the 250 individual customs declaration forms needed to ready each box for mailing.
“We talk about it taking a village to make an impact. It takes a village to support the military, too,” Hurdle said. “They do a really hard thing in service to us all, and it is important to respond as a village to support them and thank them for all they are doing for our country.”
For a full schedule of Mizzou events at the Missouri State Fair, including the Aug. 8 Mizzou Day kickoff and daily events at the Mizzou Central/Ag and 4-H buildings, visit https://showme.missouri.edu/2024/five-things-to-do-at-the-2024-missouri-state-fair.
Photos
At the Missouri State Fair, 4-H’ers will be packing ‘Boxes for the Brave’ care packages for Show-Me State soldiers stationed overseas. The public is invited to help out on Military Appreciation Day, Sunday, Aug. 11.