Operation Buckeye: Please Help!

The Christmas I found out I was pregnant with Nicholas was when my dad sent out his first care packages to the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. It wasn't called anything then -- it was just my dad collecting items or money to buy items to send in the first round of boxes. He got the idea after reading a newspaper article about our troops.

Most, if not all, the money came from my dad and mom, our family [including me and the hubby] and dad's friends. My hubby and I went to Meijer with him to buy the items for those first boxes and planned to help him pack them all up. [While the hubby helped Dad fill the cart, I snuck off to buy my pregnancy test!]

Since then, this labor of love has a name, more volunteers, more attention and more funds. It's not just my dad, Jim, anymore. It's now called Operation Buckeye. Last year, 1064 boxes were sent to the men and women of our armed forces. To date, over 1400 boxes have been sent.

Trying to bring a touch of home and brighten the day of a soldier, the boxes contain items that are both treats and necessities: Beef Jerky and hard candy are two of the favorites, along with drink mixes (to give water a better taste). Gum, chips, cheese crackers, canned fruit, granola bars, tuna snacks, tooth brushes and paste, books, batteries, deodorant, foot powder, peanuts, puzzle books, and wipes are only a partial list of items sent.


Want to Help Operation Buckeye?
There are several ways to help. The most obvious is through donations:

Operation Buckeye
PO Box 1814
Westerville, OH 43086-1814

Or dropped off at any Huntington Bank branch [if you live in Columbus, OH].
Please make all checks out to "Operation Buckeye"

They also look for volunteers. Volunteers gather at Operation Buckeye HQ every second and fourth Saturday. Boxes are usually packed from 1pm to 4pm.

Operation Buckeye HQ is located at :
4290 N. High Street
Columbus, OH 43214


Contact Operation Buckeye:
Jim Caronis [my wonderful dad!!] - Chairman: Jim@operationbuckeye.org
Dave Eyestone - Treasurer: Dave@operationbuckeye.org


More About Operation Buckeye
OPERATION BUCKEYE was formed with the sole purpose of sending boxes to our troops as a way to thank them for their efforts and to bring a touch of home to them. The physical conditions they endure are difficult and being away from family for long periods of time is also difficult.

OPERATION BUCKEYE boxes contain food and snacks, personal hygiene items, reading materials, and good wishes of love and support.

All monies raised through letter writing campaigns, media exposure, and donations from individuals and companies are used to purchase items , supplies, and postage. OPERATION BUCKEYE provides caring civilians the opportunity to show their appreciation and respect to the men and women of our military stationed in hostile and remote regions of the world.


Related Articles or Stories:

http://www.dispatch.com/live/contentbe/dispatch/2006/10/19/20061019-C1-00.html
http://ohio15th.blogspot.com/2007_03_01_archive.html
http://www.dispatch.com/live/contentbe/dispatch/2007/03/01/20070301-B1-01.html http://www.dispatch.com/dispatch/content/local_news/stories/2007/05/27/MIKE27.ART_ART_05-27-07_B2_0K6RAR0.html


P.S. My dad has NO idea I posted this in my blog! He's not about self-promotion, but I wanted to try and help out, so I've been putting the word out about Operation Buckeye. And I'm SO proud of my dad for doing all of this and just wanted to brag a little about him......

Visit the 'Rents

This weekend, my husband is in Seattle visiting his mom. Nick-Knack and I are home alone, so I decided that we would also make a visit to the 'rents. Mom is always asking when she'll see him, and they are only an hour and a half away. It's a trip I should really make more often....

Since Nicholas is hitting six months tomorrow and allowed to start riding forward facing [not to mention that he's almost too big for the carrier], I decided to make the switch to his "big boy" car seat. We were lucky enough to win a Britax car seat from a local store, so I attempted to install it this morning and replace the carrier we've been using.

The carrier we have is by Chicco and was part of a travel system. I have to say that I love it. It's served us well, and I would highly recommend it to anyone. In fact, I just happen to have one for sale.....ha, ha.

Anyway, after a few trials and errors, I did manage to install the Britax car seat using the latches. It was a serious pain in the butt to get the latches to "click" properly, but I finally got it all hooked in. Then, I packed up some diapers and formula, grabbed Nicholas, and we were off!

I'm not sure if he likes this new car seat. He kept looking around like he didn't know where the HELL he was. I also didn't get the usual smiles out of him. He just kept looking at me with this perplexed look on his face.

As usual, he fell asleep on the ride home, and his poor little head was slumped forward. It did not look comfortable. It did give me an idea for a possible new invention, though! I'm sure somebody has already thought of it, so it might save me the hassle of making a prototype.

I guess we'll just have to wait and see if Nick takes to this new car seat. It seems very comfortable, and I do like it. I hope he adapts and decides that being able to see out the windows and look at Mommy are pluses. And that change is good.