Hundreds support Freedom Bash to keep care packages coming for U.S. troops overseas
By Romi Herron For The Courier-News June 11, 2011 4:54PM
Bill Lunsford, left, along with Hanover Park Mayor Rodney Craig, center, and Bob Mattson demonstrate the proper folding of the American flag during the second day of Hanover Park's Freedom Bash on Saturday, June 11, 2011. (Kevin D. Sherman~For Sun-Times Media)
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Updated: September 29, 2011 12:52AM
Hand-knit liners for combat helmets are just one of the items U.S. military servicemen and women receive from Operation Support Our Troops America, a non-profit organization that collects essentials through local events and sends them overseas.
On Friday and Saturday, Hanover Township hosted Freedom Bash, at Route 59 and Bartlett Road, to help the cause. Live musical entertainment, a car show, children’s activities, food and Bingo were among the attactions of the event.
Tom Kuttenberg, community relations coordinator for Hanover Township, said temperatures in the low 60s Saturday affected attendance, with about 200 people gathering in the early afternoon. But still, he considered the event a success. The goal is to fill a trailer twice with goods, and the donations were on track by mid-Saturday.
“Friday night, with the car show, went great. At least 40 cars were in it, each paying an entry fee of $15, which all pays for the shipping for the donations,” he said. The bands, Thadeus Project, David and Goliath, Signature, Smokehouse and Gypsy Fly all donated their time, he added.
Judy and John Seefurth of Streamwood volunteered to work a two-hour shift at the collection trailer Saturday. John served in the U.S. Army from 1958 to 1960, patrolling the border in Germany. Judy said the donations were streaming in continuously.
“They usually make more than one trip with the trailer (delivering donations to the warehouse),” she said.
Nancy Baier of Libertyville is an operations coordinator with Operation Support Our Troops America and supervised the volunteers at the Freedom Bash.
“This event, and Hanover Township itself, collects donations throughout each month for us so they keep our troops well taken care of,” said Baier, who invests about 15 hours per week for the cause.
Her husband, Dr. Tom Baier, is an orthopedic surgeon who served overseas, in addition to the couple’s sons, Sgt. Michael Baier, 25, who completed two tours in Iraq with the Marines, and Sgt. Matt Baier, 27, who is serving in Afghanistan.
Baier said donations are sorted, stored and packed in two warehouses in Lisle. One was donated by a Vietnam veteran, she said.
“We meet and check expiration dates, sort things and get them ready to be shipped,” she said.
The organization, founded in 2003, ships 500 boxes monthly to U.S. servicemen and women overseas. Each box weighs about 15 pounds and costs $25 to ship. Contents include beef jerky or other protein snacks, eye drops, nasal drops, bath wipes, mayonnaise packets, foot powder, phone cards and mouthwash — the comforts of home and often, the basics soldiers just don’t get on active duty.
“I think our organization is a good vehicle to give people a way to help,” Baier said. “They often don’t realize that our military don’t have the basics.”
More information about Operation Support Our Troops is available at www.freedombash.com.
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