ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER Anaheim Hills Edition News February 17, 2005 Packages of Gratitude program growing BY DIANE REED ANAHEIM HILLS NEWS Mary Ann Cordova’s three-car garage is slowly shrinking. Only one of the family’s cars will fit inside now. The rest of the space is devoted to Cordova’s "Packages of Gratitude" program, designed to let U.S. Troops abroad know people at home appreciate them. Shelves in the Cordova garage are filled with things requested by soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines – socks, knitted caps, candy bars, sunscreen and Top Ramen noodles. "I want to thank all of my neighbors in Anaheim Hills who gave so generously in December," Cordova said. "Because of their help, I was able to get a total of 250 packages out between Nov. 23 and the present." Even as Cordova’s storage space shrinks, her heart is filling with pride and resolve to keep the program going. "I have received both written thank you’s and e-mails from my soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan," she said. "They would not have been able to receive these packages without the support of my neighbors." Cordova has received a helping hand from The Rotary Club of Santa Ana North, too. "They are now one of my sponsors," Cordova said. "I went to a luncheon and gave a presentation of what I am doing and they donated $1,000." A letter containing photos of club members and messages from them is now enclosed in the packages Cordova sends to servicemen and women. She also sends them photos of her family and a personal letter. Scott Springmier and the Anaheim Hills Knights of Columbus, are helping too. Scott’s wife works for Kimberly Clark. The firm has donated many personal hygiene items requested by troops, from baby wipes and tampons to Kleenex. The Veterans of Foreign Wars in Orange is contributing to the cost of postage and supplies. Those on the receiving end of Packages of Gratitude have only good things to say. "Thank you for your good wishes, prayers, and ‘Packages of Gratitude.’ It’s weird that you get such a warm feeling from people you have never met, thanks again. I am the platoon leader for 1 st platoon 25 th Military Police Company and we are all stationed out of Hawaii." Another soldier writes, "I checked with most of my soldiers and yes they got your boxes. Thanks again so much. We just started our eighth month and have another four to go. I don’t think there is anything special that the guys need, unless you may be able to get black fleece caps. Our weather here is insanely cold and snowy. Our (base) is at about 7,200- foot altitude. My platoon sergeant just went to the Bagram Airbase and got all the guys new boots and gloves for the weather." Cordova was able to fulfill the need for black fleece caps to keep the unit warm. A female soldier wrote, "Thanks so much for sending me the care package. I appreciate the work and thought you put into making me such a generous gift. It really made my day to get the package from you. Also thank you for the pictures of you and your family, that was a nice personal touch." Letters like this keep Cordova going on the project that was inspired when she and her husband toured war memorials in Washington, D.C. last year. Mary Ann Cordova continues to send packages to the troops. |
| ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER Anaheim Hills Edition News December 30, 2004 A soldier’s plea for understanding Emotional feedback from Packages of Gratitude. BY DIANE REED ANAHEIM HILLS NEWS The War on Terrorism has been a roller-coaster ride for me both at home and at work. I've had two family members in Iraq so far,and, I’ve been fortunate enough to see them both return home unharmed. I am ever grateful – particularly since 22 of our finest were killed by a suicide bomber in Iraq last week. At Christmas and always I hold these children dear – Mary Diane Reed, (my namesake), and Brandon Womack a new member of the family who married my granddaughter Cassie Leigh just months before he was shipped to Iraq. The war has touched me in other ways, too. I have swelled with pride when Lutheran High School freshman Shauna Fleming attained her goal of sending a million letters of thanks for our troops. I remember Shauna as a cheerful eighth-grader attending Trinity Lutheran Christian School, just last year. Now she is a TV talk show guest and has a book deal – at 15. I actually got a lump in my throat when I heard President George W. Bush tell hundreds of Marines about her efforts, while he was visiting Camp Pendleton, a couple of weeks back. Shauna saw a need and filled it and it has changed her life, as well as those she sought to thank. Mary Ann Cordova, the Hills woman who has lofted a one-woman effort to send Packages of Gratitude to U.S. Troops, will be changed by her efforts too. Although she has sent only 60 boxes abroad, so far, she e-mailed me last week to share something she has received that has found its way into her heart. "I have attached a poem that was written by a soldier," Cordova said adding this word of caution. "Warning... The attached poem will be hazardous to your emotional well being." The poem was written by SSG LaMesha Strange, a female soldier who is now stationed in Hawaii. She used the pen name "La-Mesha Craft" because her married name is literally "Strange." Strange or Craft-y, La Mesha is quite capable of expressing herself. And if what she has to say doesn’t touch your heart, then it is clearly made of stone. We don’t run poetry in the paper. So don’t start sending me poems. But, I’m going to make an exception, just this once. When I saw Mary Ann’s e-mail, I knew I had to pass this poem on. I couldn't help thinking that what LaMesha has to say, is probably what my Mary Diane and Brandon were thinking while they were overseas. But would not say, not wanting to worry me. This is her plea........ "A Soldier’s Cry From a Foreign Land." Please let me make it home in one piece. Don’t let death get a hold on me. Fellow citizens do not understand. They are not living here, in this land. They are free to criticize, nevertheless fail to realize I go where I am told, and that is it! I could care less about the politics. Why can’t they see, protesting this war does nothing to help me! Because whether or not I agree This is a new kind of war, you see. The Geneva Convention does not protect me from terrorists, snipers or RPG’s. So do not convict my leadership for shooting a round to foil a plot. Look at how many deaths he stopped. Don’t use the word hero in vain. Many have perished without an utterance of their name. I am a mother, a father, a daughter, a son. A wife, a husband A special someone. I am a soldier fighting a war. Support me. It’s your freedom, I fight for. As we move into the new year, continue to support those like Shauna Fleming and Mary Ann Cordova who have been touched by the sacrifices that our troops are making for us and have made a commitment to help in whatever way they can. Think too, about what Ann Herr is doing by making memorial tables to comfort the families of those who have paid the ultimate price for our freedom. Then, ask yourself this? Why is it that at a time in our history when young women are fighting right along side the men on battle fields, that those who are helping on the home-front are predominately women too? Gentlemen...start your engines! Let’s see what you can do. |
| ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER Anaheim Hills Edition News December 16, 2004 Packages of Gratitude heading overseas Anaheim Hills woman is assisted by Yorba Linda pal. BY: DIANE REED ANAHEIM HILLS NEWS Touched by the names of fallen heroes she saw on veterans memorials in Washington, D.C, in October, Mary Ann Cordova of Anaheim Hills has launched "Packages of Gratitude" in support of U.S. Troops fighting terrorism abroad. Inside of each package that she sends is a personal note, a photo of her family and an e-mail address so that the recipients can contact her with any special needs. "My husband (John Cordova) is a Vietnam vet," she writes to the troops. "I remember how happy he was to receive a package from home. If you can, please e-mail me and let me know if there is anything else you need. I’ll try to get it out to you." Currently, she is also enclosing Christmas cards made by children at the Anaheim Hills Montessori School where her grandson Michael, 5, attends. Cordova stresses that although she is launching the program during the holiday season, this isn’t a Christmas drive. "I’m going to keep doing this until the troops come home," she said. She is sending small gifts of disposable cameras, playing cards, toothbrushes, lotions, and moist wipes, as well as snacks that include breakfast bars, gum, hard candy, corn nuts, sunflower seeds, beef jerky, microwave popcorn and more. The gifts are shipped priority mail directly to service members at their APO addresses. "I get the names from friends and neighbors and total strangers," she said. "As I pass out my fliers I ask everyone, ‘Do you have anyone in the military overseas?’" She also obtains names from the Web site, www.anysoldier.us/wheretosend. Through a family friend, Bill Van of Aloha Hundai-Kia in Honolulu, Hawaii, Cordova was introduced to Lt. Col. Steven Volkman of the U.S. Army in Hawaii. He has provided names of four platoons overseas. "The fact that she has opened her heart to try and take care of soldiers, sailors, Air Force and Marines is really appreciated," Volkman said. "We thank God for folks like that and hope they have a blessed holiday season," Volkman said. The local grandmother has converted a portion of her garage into a gift packing station. There she and her friend Benita Brown of Yorba Linda sort and pack the items they hope will comfort the men and women overseas. "What she’s doing is really wonderful," Brown said. "I kid her that she has created a monster. It looks like this war is going to go on for a long time and she’s not going to stop till them come home." The shelves in Cordova’s garage contain bins of snacks, letters, holiday cards, personal hygiene items and more. The women soldiers are in great need of feminine hygiene products. Although they have a traveling PX, it doesn’t always get to where the soldiers are on a regular basis. One who recently returned from Iraq told Cordova, "It’s like being on the worst camping trip of your life." She wants to change that, one soldier at a time. So she is packing all the comfort items she can get into priority mail boxes she purchases for $7.70 each. "So far we've sent out 42 boxes but we've got many more to do," she said. "There will be 150,000 kids over there by the first of the year." Canyon Hair salon, 5761 E. Santa Ana Canyon Road is helping, too. They are now a drop-off point for travel-sized items like toothpaste, lotions, cortisone cream, shampoo, conditioner. AIM Mailing Center at 446 S. Anaheim Hills Road is supporting the effort too. Sherry Oliver-Drummond at AIM is accepting donations to cover the cost of mailing the boxes Cordova sends overseas. "This only fell together in November," Cordova said, "so when I have a few free minutes I run around and pass out flyers." Each time she does she gains more support for her project. One flyer she gave to a woman at the Post Office, resulted in more than $100 worth of goods that are on their way overseas. "Scott S. Schinnerer, DDS, whose office is in Orange gave me boxes of toothbrushes, too," she said. "And I just got a call from some women who saw the first little item in the Anaheim Hills News and they are bringing two truck loads of items over to help." Cordova wants everyone to know that her effort is not political in nature. "No matter how you feel about the war," she said, "those troops are our husbands, wives, children and grandchildren. They are over there protecting our country and helping another country become a democracy." |
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