Sharing Life’s Lessons
The next week at our house will be focused on Operation: Quiet Comfort. In case there is someone reading this that isn’t aware of OQC, let me explain. The mission of Operation: Quiet Comfort is to honor and comfort our U.S. Armed Forces men and women who are injured while serving in harm’s way and to provide much needed emotional and moral support to those serving far from home and family. This is done by sending 20 to 50 care packages of items such as hygiene products, quilts, snacks and cards of appreciation and encouragement every month. OQC is a 501(c)(3) and is staffed entirely by volunteers. Kenny and I have been involved with OQC since 2007. All the packing and shipping has been done from Plymouth, IN since 2010 with the help of many volunteers.
For eight years April found us hosting a fundraiser that included a dinner and auction to benefit OQC. Last year our plans stopped abruptly. This year, once again, we found that a dinner and auction for 250 people just wasn’t possible. What to do? Like many non-profits, we were scrambling to create new ideas for funding. We finally came up with what I like to call Plan B.
“Celebrate & Support Our Troops – Stop and Shop” will happen April 14th and 15th. The plan is to set up items we would normally be auctioning at the Knights of Columbus building across from Martin’s Grocery in Plymouth. People are encouraged to stop by the K of C Hall on Wednesday April 14th from 4:00 – 8:00 p.m. and Thursday April 15th from 9:00 – 6:00 p.m. Each item will have a price so you can “buy it now” and take it with you. If you do not want to pay the listed price, you can put a sealed bid on the item. At the end of the event, we will open bids of items that were not sold and contact the highest bidder.
Dessert has always been a highlight of our fundraiser meals (at least for me). There won’t be a meal, but you will be able to purchase a piece of pie and coffee if you want to enjoy a treat while shopping or take a piece home…or take home a whole pie!
Our community has always been very generous. We are accepting any and all donations for the sale. We are also giving businesses the opportunity to advertise their business by making a monetary donation to OQC. We will post our donors at the event and list them on our web site, Facebook page, and in our email newsletter.
The K of C Hall has lots of room for us to spread out and we’ve planned plenty of hours, so it won’t be crowded. We already have too many items to list and more coming in each day. There will be something for everyone in all price ranges. Food certificates, tools, furniture, home décor, and more. We are posting pictures of items on Facebook and if you can’t come in person you can call 574948-1321 during the event hours and “buy it now” or place a bid.
Operation: Quiet Comfort is a non-political organization. We never ask anyone to support the wars, but we ask everyone to support our troops. I don’t believe we would be the United States of America without our military. They sacrifice so much for us and this is a fun way to give back and get something for yourself.
If you would like more information about what we do monthly or have questions about the Stop and Shop event feel free to contact Ken or Jan at 574-936-1424 or janh@operationquietcomfort.com. We’re excited about this New Idea!