The Iowa Care Package, Inc. story
The idea of sending packages to Soldiers in combat areas, started in 1990 during the troops build up, before the Desert Storm invasion of Iraq.
A deployed family member of Ron and Connie Fisher’s, called and requested sporting goods and personal items that would make life less boring and a little more comfortable for him and his buddies.
Calls were made to everyone they knew in local businesses for donations, as the word got out what the Soldiers wanted, donated items started coming in.
With the amount of donations, more deployed Soldier’s names and addresses were needed. Several central Iowa TV stations were contacted, after the story aired, an avalanche of donated goods, money and soldiers’ addresses followed. Ultimately nine tons of sporting goods, personal items, food stuffs along with letters and cards of appreciation were shipped to deployed troops.
Once in a TV interview, Ron was ask, “if his project had a name.” Without knowing what else to say, Ron said “Iowa Care Package.”
That entire effort represented a tremendous outpouring of good will from Marshalltown and other communities across Iowa. The letters received from soldiers that shared in the packages were priceless. The whole project was enjoyable, gratifying and short lived since the war was soon over.
Now, almost twenty years later, Ron and Connie Fisher are mounting another effort to send Care Packages to our soldiers in combat zones and soldiers hospitalized from combat injuries.
Today, Iowa Care Package, Inc. is a 501(3)(c) non profit, public charity, where all contributions and donations are tax deductible. All efforts of Iowa Care Package, Inc. are supported by volunteers, charitable donations and contributions (Iowa Care Package, Inc. does not have employees). All money donated, is used only to purchase postage and/or any other direct expenses involved to package and ship care packages to deployed Soldiers in combat zones or in hospitals recovering from combat injuries. In the event money donations exceed available products for shipment, items will be purchased from partners in the food distribution business at wholesale prices or less (see Partners).
Iowa Care Package, Inc. continues to develop Partners that provide monetary gifts along with goods and services at no charge or much reduced cost.
The story continues.