RUMFORD — In lieu of swapping Christmas gifts for the holidays, employees with Kreckel Law of Rumford will be aiming to make the Christmas season a little brighter for soldiers in Afghanistan by filling up stockings with different goods and shipping them overseas, said employee Melinda Woods.
Woods said that during a recent meeting between Kreckel Law employees, they decided they didn’t need to swap gifts this year and wanted to do something for others.
“We realized we had everything we needed and didn’t need to swap gifts,” Woods said. “We started thinking about how we could help out and we came up the idea to send stockings filled with donated items to a military unit serving in Afghanistan.”
The goal for Kreckel Law, according to Woods, is to fill 22 stockings by Nov. 15.
“November 15th is the absolute last day that we can send it out,” Woods said. “Otherwise, it wouldn’t get there in time for Christmas.”
Woods said that Jennifer Kreckel will be “footing the bill for all shipping involved.”
Among the most requested items on the soldier’s lists are various food items, including coffee, beef jerky, nuts, soup and store-bought snacks.
Woods said that the soldiers also requested lotions, baby wipes and shampoo.
“The community is welcome to come into our office on Congress Street and get a list of the their most requested items,” Woods said. “We’re trying to get local businesses and citizens to donate some stuff so we can fill up those 22 stockings for the soldiers. If we get more items than we can fit in the stockings, we’ll throw it in a box and ship that over too.”
Carlisle’s Apparel and Footwear and Bartash’s have already donated items, Woods said.
“Carlisle’s gave us some socks and knitted caps to send to the soldiers, because contrary to what people think, it actually gets pretty cold at night in Afghanistan,” Woods said. “Bartash’s donated magazines, books, some hand-held games and other things to keep the soldiers busy during their downtime.”
Woods said that anybody who wishes to donate items should bring it directly to the Kreckel Law office at 95 Congress Street.
For more information, call 364-4593.
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