As part of its commitment to supporting U.S. military men and women,
Carrington Charitable Foundation (CCF), the non-profit organization of The Carrington Companies, conducted its annual Boxes for Our Troops Challenge, collecting nearly 2,400 care packages for active duty service members deployed around the world. The 2017 challenge is the most successful in the event’s eight-year history, and more than doubled the 2016 total of 1,008 boxes.
“This effort means a lot to me, with both my youngest son and his wife currently deployed to Afghanistan for the next eight months with the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division,” said Mike Dorner, Senior Vice President of Operations for Carrington Property Services, who rallied three Carrington companies and his teams to donate more than $11,000 and 500 boxes to this initiative. “I personally know the value these boxes bring to our troops. Soldiers like my son spend the majority of their time in the field with limited access to hot meals and running water. When they come back to base and get a care package from home, they know they’re in our thoughts and prayers.”
The annual event was created as a way for Carrington Associates across the country, some of whom are veterans, to personally honor and show their appreciation for the servicemen and women currently serving the country.
“We realize many of our active-duty military rarely receive mail, leaving them to cope without words of encouragement and support from friends and family back home, and we wanted to change this,” said Shelly Lawrence, Executive Director of Community Relations for the Carrington Charitable Foundation. “Every year, Boxes for Our Troops gives Carrington Associates a fun opportunity to rally together−as a team or individually−and create care packages filled with basic supplies, other personal items and notes, to show we care and are thinking of our servicemembers.”
All nine major Carrington office locations participated in the Boxes for Our Troops challenge, generously donating many thousands of dollars’ worth of items, then wrapping, packing and shipping the boxes to servicemen and women serving on land and at sea. Gift box contents ranged from snack foods, breakfast items and bath and hygiene products to board games, footballs and a variety of reading materials. Some boxes were decorated with personal sentiments and themes and included thank you notes and photos of the Carrington team that put it together.
“We are touched by the tremendous effort of the Carrington Associates who looked past their own needs to give to those who might need a little more support. These soldiers may not need everything we send them, but the gesture tells them that many here at home are thinking about them,” said Lawrence.
