Residents of Blantyre are once again being asked to spare a thought for our troops on active duty this Christmas. Some advance planning is required for this. Donating a morale box with a wrapped present in advance now….e.g an individual Christmas pudding, individual Christmas cake or a small selection packet (not box) and other goodies will cheer the lads and lassies up that will not be home for the festive season.
Regional co-ordinator for Scotland, Lynn O’Brien, quoted “People have been generous over the years in donating to our morale boosting packages. Over the festive season many of our troops will not be home and some have little or no family contact and so we want to make Christmas Day a special day for everyone by sending out our special Christmas Cheer Box full of a taste of home and a present for them to open. Many people do not realise we will still have our Armed Forces out in Afghanistan and Iraq, The Falklands, Belize and other operational areas where we continue to provide aid. We also send to the Navy and the RAF who are on operations not known to the general public”.
You may also wish to hand in a Christmas card or letter with a message of support with your donation, these are as important as the contents themselves; by all means include your contact details if you wish to do so. Whilst we cannot promise a response, in most cases the recipients do write to express their thanks.
All donations may be handed into branches of Co-op Funeralcare in Bellshill, Lanark, East Kilbride, Strathaven, Larkhall, Shotts, Motherwell, Hamilton, Cambuslang, Carluke, Wishaw, Blantyre, Lesmahagow, Kilsyth, Kirkintilloch, Coatbridge, Airdrie and Cumbernauld. All drop off points for other areas are listed on the web site and we thank them for continuing their support of the charity.
Closing date for donations is Friday 9th November 2018.
The Support Our Soldiers charity was founded in 2003 by a group of service families/friends/supporters who came together with the sole aim to provide support for our serving men and women and their families at home; doing everything from sending morale boosting care packages and helping those with injuries to raising welfare issues and providing much needed support and guidance to family members.
Pictured last year are some of the parcels being packed and the delight at being received!