The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

In 2003, Central Florida mom, Mary Harper, had five children and two son’s-in-law in
the military who were deployed around the world. She quickly learned that there were
troops who received few care packages or even mail, so she decided to change that.
She began sending snacks, personal care items, and thank-you notes to those troops
to show appreciation and raise morale. Within two years, she and her non-profit
organization, Operation Shoebox, were honored at the White House for its work on
behalf of service men and women.
Recently, 23 members of the Ocala 1 st Ward of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-
day Saints, including youth and missionaries, wanted to help Operation Shoebox. They
organized a drive-thru activity in their chapel’s parking lot to collect items for care
packages then assembled them. The missionaries also dropped off snack boxes to
military men and women based in Belleview.
Operation Shoebox is “committed to treating every hero with care and honor”. Its initial
goal of sending care packages to troops to thank them for their service has resulted in
troops returning the favor by thanking Operation Shoebox and its volunteers for their
thoughtfulness and generosity.