Volunteers assemble 19,596 packages in just 2 days!

Van Nuys, CA - During the Veteran's Day Weekend, November 10-11, more than 800 volunteers gathered at the National Guard Armory in Van Nuys to kick-off Operation Gratitude's 5th Annual Holiday Drive to send care packages to deployed troops.

With music blaring, employees from Target, Disney, Warner Brothers, Boeing, Time Warner Cable and the California Escrow Association joined Service Members, Veterans, church and temple groups, schools, scouts and hundreds of new and returning volunteers to assemble and ship an unprecendented 19,596 care packages, averaging a staggering 1900 packages per hour, and bringing our overall tally to: 278,947 care packages sent to our troops!

Hollywood Star Works the Line

To the surprise and absolute delight of all the Volunteers, Actor Ben Affleck arrived at the Armory Saturday morning and jumped right on the Assembly Line, filling care packages, labeling the boxes, and writing customs forms. Wearing the newly designed Operation Gratitude T-shirt and graciously taking pictures with every person who asked, Mr. Affleck also spoke to the crowd of over 500 Volunteers about the importance of their work and the need to let our troops know we support and appreciate them. Affleck promised the crowd he would continue to promote the cause and try to bring greater awareness to the wonderful work of Operation Gratitude.

About Operation Gratitude

Operation Gratitude (www.operationgratitude.com) is the 501 (c) (3), all-volunteer organization that sends care packages of items and letters addressed to individually named U.S. Service Members deployed in hostile overseas regions. Its mission is to lift morale, bring a smile to a service member's face and to express to all troops the appreciation and support of the American people. Since its inception in March, 2003, Operation Gratitude has shipped more than 275,000 packages to American troops deployed overseas.

For more information on all Volunteer activities, visit the Volunteer Section of the Operation Gratitude website.