Comforting the deployed

After a member of the military is deployed, either for training or overseas, the chances for connection back home are limited. It can be a lonely experience for some, with the only communication home through rare phone or video calls.

Blue Star Mothers, including their Iowa chapter, help bring comfort to deployed service men and women by preparing care packages for the holidays. The name comes from the volunteers who make up the organization; the mothers strive to help not just their children but all who deploy.

The organization has existed in some form since 1942, when WWII meant servicemen were being drafted. About 200 chapters across the country are now in service, with the state of Iowa being covered by a single Iowa chapter.

In each care package, food items such as powder packets, snacks and other easily shippable food will join travel-size toiletry items (lotion, cold medicine, disposable razors, deodorant, etc.) and other items such as card games to send support to those deployed. A full Blue Star Mothers wish list is available online.

Cash donations can be sent in a variety of ways, all of which are available online. Collections will be finished by October, with packing to take place in November at Camp Dodge in Johnston. Volunteers are welcome, with signups available in September.

Last year, 600 packages were prepared and shipped at home and overseas. Blue Star Mothers of Iowa is planning for an increase this year to 2,700, 4.5 times last year’s total. The cost of shipping all these packages is quite high ($75,600 for all 2,700 packages, or $28 per package), which makes cash donations an appreciated contribution.

The Iowa National Guard has 1,900 service men and women deployed this year. In August, 200 more Iowa members of the Army Reserve will also deploy. An additional 600 Iowan service members are deployed or stationed abroad worldwide. The Iowa chapter hopes to send a care package to all of them.

Kristie Nixon of Afton will be volunteering for her first year for the organization. As a city council member for Afton, she was able to offer the Afton City Hall as a drop-off point. Besides there, drop off sites are available in Creston at the Eagles Club and Rustic Graphic Creations.

“Everything is volunteer, nothing is paid,” Nixon said. “It’s really just moms on a mission to support all of our Iowa soldiers who are on active duty.”

Nixon recommends other Union County mothers and grandmothers who are interested in volunteering to go online to www.bluestarmothersofiowa.com to learn more.

Coming from a military family, Nixon understands how it feels to be distanced from loved ones. Her grandfather had deployed in the 101st Airborne during WWII. One of her brothers had deployed in 2003, 2005 and 2008, and the other deployed in 2010 through 2011. Not only that, but Nixon’s son, Gabe, is deployed and training in Louisiana.

“Military is not new to me, I understand deployment,” Nixon said. “It’s different when it’s your own child. I cherish every FaceTime that we have.”

Connecting with other parents of deployed service men and women through Blue Star Mothers of Iowa has been a way for Nixon to process as a collective, calling the organization a “great community to be a part of.”

Those items in the care package can be complementary to a soldier’s daily routine, as Nixon explained. The package contains food items which won’t conflict with a busy schedule and toiletries which will work well in a small living space.

“They might be stationed somewhere, but then they might have missions where they’re out and about,” Nixon said. “The powdered drink mixes are easy to pack in your pack and take with you... [The toiletries] are all travel-sized because they have small spaces. Wherever they’re stationed, they’re portable.”

The holiday spirit won’t be lost, even if families are miles apart.

“We have some sewing guilds who are making small stockings,” Nixon said. “We’re going to put candy in them.”

On Sept. 5, East Union Schools will hold a student drive for Blue Star Mothers. During the football game later that day against Seymour, East Union will give an opportunity for the community to honor their local veterans.

“They’ll invite the community in. If they want to bring a donation to it, the cheerleaders will collect that,” Nixon said. “I’m looking forward to that. That’s a good way to get the younger generation involved too.”