Branchburg Marine returns NJ Heroes Banner to First Lady Mary Pat Christie & Operation Shoebox New Jersey

Somerville HS graduate presents photos of fellow Marines with banner in Afghanistan

Trenton, NJ – A New Jersey Marine returning from Afghanistan today presented First Lady Mary Pat Christie with the New Jersey Heroes banner she and a group of volunteers originally signed and sent overseas as part of an Operation Shoebox care package in December 2011.

Lance Corporal (LCpl) Zachary R. Sanders, of Somerville, returned the placard to Mrs. Christie with a photograph of his fellow soldiers with the banner. 

“Operation Shoebox is such a great cause, and the fact that Zach returned to New Jersey to deliver this banner from the soldiers in Afghanistan really demonstrates how much it means to our military personnel to know they are supported on the home front," said Mrs. Christie. "We're so proud of the courage Zach and his team members have displayed in serving our nation and we are thrilled that they have safely returned to their loves ones."

Lance Corporal Sanders graduated from Somerville High School in 2010. He attended Boot Camp and graduated from Parris Island on November 11, 2010. After marine combat training and military police training, he spent five months at Camp Pendleton, California. He then volunteered to join a police advisor team that was attached to 2nd Battalion 4th Marines. On August 26, 2011, LCpl Sanders was sent to FOB Musa Qala in Helmand Province, Afghanistan to train and mentor the Afghan National Police as well as recruit local police from the surrounding areas. LCpl Sanders returned to California on March 23, 2012 and will be joining the Law Enforcement Battalion on June 1, 2012.

“I joined the military because the older I got I began to realize all the freedoms we have in America and I knew we didn't just get them by sitting around,” said LCpl Sanders. “I love my job. I loved working with the police in Afghanistan and teaching them some of our techniques and our knowledge of things. I was working with an outstanding team, PAT1 2nd Bat 4th Marines. There were 16 of us and I thank God everyone on the team made it back safe. It's great to be back in America.” 

Since 2005, Operation Shoebox New Jersey has shipped more than 50,000 total packages to U.S. military members at posts in the Middle East, including Iraq, Kuwait, Afghanistan. The contents of all 50,000 boxes were generously donated by individuals and companies large and small in New Jersey.

In December 2011, First Lady Mary Pat Christie named Rod Hirsch, founder of Operation Shoebox New Jersey as her ninth New Jersey Hero. 

At the time, Mrs. Christie joined Operation Shoebox volunteers at thei Hillsborough headquarters in assembling care packages to be sent to military personnel in the Mideast. Several times a year, Shoebox volunteers ranging from veterans and church groups to corporations and school children give their time to sort donated supplies and then pack boxes to be shipped overseas. Items needed include lip balm, sun block, moist wipes, bars of soap, small bottles of shampoo, non-aerosol deodorant, powdered drink mixes, cereal/snacks, granola bars, individual packets of instant oatmeal, popcorn and hot chocolate, small cans of fruit with pop tops, gum, candy, athletic socks and batteries.

To learn more about Operation Shoebox New Jersey, visit www.opshoeboxnj.org.

New Jersey Heroes is an initiative of First Lady Mary Pat Christie that showcases the positive and unique ways people and organizations are impacting New Jersey and their communities. 

To nominate a hero, go to http://newjerseyheroes.org and follow the application instructions and submit the person you believe is a true New Jersey Hero.

To read more about Operation Shoebox NJ's nomination as NJ Hero, click here.

Help Support Operation Shoebox New Jersey through the Affinity Membership Program sponsored by TD Bank.

If you are already a TD Bank customer, visit any TD Bank location and ask to have your balances included as part of the Operation Shoebox New Jersey Affinity Membership Program; or, open a new account at any office and TD Bank will make a contribution to Operation Shoebox New Jersey. TD Bank will make an annual contribution to Operation Shoebox New Jersey based on the average balance in all members' accounts. Checkings, savings, money market, CD and retirement accounts are all included in the program.

If 100 people enroll, and their combined bank balance is $2 million, Operation Shoebox would receive a check from TD Bank for $8,000, based on the ¼ percent rate. (See below).

Contributions are calculated at 1/2 percent on checking balances and 1/4 percent on savings, money market, CD and IRA balances. Members' accounts are not affected in any way by this contribution. Your account balances are used to determine the level of contribution and are kept confidential. It costs you nothing!
There are several ways to enroll in the program. You must use the following code number: A3342. Call Anthony Franchini, manager of the Hillsborough TD Bank, Route 206, (908) 359-7004 or send him an e-mail - Anthony.franchini@td.com. You can also visit or call your branch of TD Bank; just tell the manager you want to enroll in the program. Remember to use the code number.

The Affinity Membership Program is part of TD Bank's philanthropy and community outreach initiative, as required by the Community Reinvestment Act enacted by Congress in 1977 to ensure banks give back to the communities they serve.

Operation Shoebox volunteers fanned out across New Jersey last weekend to collect supplies and donations and will be doing so again this weekend.

On Saturday, April 14, volunteers Steve Swink, Bob and Joy Monroe and Dave Rollins were on the concourse at TD Bank Ballpark in Bridgewater at FanFest to help the Somerset Patriots kick off the upcoming 2012 season. We signed up more pledges for our Victory Campaign and distributed flyers to hundreds of fans.  We’ll be back at the ballpark Opening Night April 26.

Also on Saturday, New Jersey contestants from the USA Pageant wearing their tiaras and sashes helped volunteers Enrique Compta and Liz Chase collect donations outside the Route 1 ShopRite in South Brunswick, while members of several churches collected donations outside the ShopRite in West Milford. Church members will be out again this weekend at the A&P in West Milford in preparation for a packing at the West Milford Presbyterian Church on April 28. On Sunday, April 15, volunteers Dorrie Guarniero, Joy Monroe and Enrique Compta collected donations outside the ShopRite on Route 22 in Branchburg.

On Saturday, April 21, OPSHBX NJ will travel to Scotch Plains for a packing with students from Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School. Sponsored by the SPFHS Honor Society, the students have been collecting donations and raising funds the past several months and hope to pack as many as 300 boxes for shipment overseas.  Volunteers will also be in Piscataway at the ShopRite on Centennial Avenue collecting donations. 

How Sweet it is . . .
Looking ahead, we’ll be picking up over 900 cases of Girl Scout cookies – that’s almost 11,000 individual boxes - at Girl Scout service centers in in Montclair, Westfield and North Branch on Friday. Troop leaders have been dropping off boxes at headquarters, too. Over the past several years, over 50,000 boxes of Girl Scout cookies have been donated by the girls . . . nothing more American than a box of Girl Scout cookies!

We’ll also be picking up more candy donated by shoppers at 15 Walgreen Stores throughout central New Jersey.  Several volunteers including Debbie and Bob Francolini, Susan Anderson, Steve Swink, Earl Wilson and Bob and Joy Monroe were at our headquarters in Hillsborough Wednesday night packing bags of loose candy for future packing events.

Take Your Child to Work Day
Janssen Pharmaceuticals in Raritan, CitiGroup in Warren and Qwest Diagnostics in Oradell are hosting “Take Your Child to Work Day” events April 26 with organizers at all three sites working to connect with US troops overseas.

In Raritan, Janssen employees and their children will pack boxes for shipment to Afghanistan, while the Qwest group will collect donations and sort the supplies for transport to OPSHBX NJ headquarters. The CitiGroup gathering will color Hero Cards” and write messages inside. The cards will be included in the boxes shipped overseas.

Watch this space next week for more updates on who’s doing what to help Operation Shoebox New Jersey maintain its supply line of personal care packages shipped to US troops overseas.

Somerset Patriots go to bat for U.S. troops deployed overseas

Bridgewater, NJ - Every time the Somerset Patriots win a game during the 2012 season they will be scoring a victory for all U.S. troops deployed overseas.

Operation Shoebox New Jersey and the Somerset Patriots Baseball Club are partnering for “Victory Campaign 2012,” providing an opportunity for all fans to support the Patriots on the field, and the true American Patriots overseas who wear a uniform of a different color, according to Rod Hirsch, founder and executive director of the non-profit organization, which has sent over 53,000 care packages to US troops overseas since 2005.

“The team's name is synonymous with what has always made this country great,” Hirsch explained, “a sense of pride; strength in body and mind, a fervent respect for that which is right and a willingness to protect and preserve the basic freedoms that we all enjoy.”

By pledging to support “Victory Campaign 2012,” each fan that signs up for the fund raising program will ensure that the supply line of personal items shipped overseas continues uninterrupted, according to Hirsch.
All fans that sign up for the program will receive four free tickets to any Patriots home game Monday-Thursday during the 2012 season and a chance to win a limited edition signed print of Somerset Patriots manager Sparky Lyle in Yankees pinstripes, winner of the 1977 Cy Young Award as the best pitcher in baseball. Read More>