Operation Gratitude Sends Out Its 200,000th Gift Box to Our Troops

As reported by Jewish Current Issues, this weekend, Operation Gratitude shipped its 200,000th gift package to American troops serving in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere, each package individually addressed to a specific soldier, with a personally-written letter accompanying each large boxful of items, individually packed by a volunteer. Operation Gratitude was formed in March 2003 by one person -- Carolyn Blashek -- a member of the Los Angeles Jewish congregation Ohr HaTorah, led by Rabbi Mordechai Finley. Rabbi Finley is a Marine veteran, and at the time his son was serving in Iraq with the Marines. Working alone out of her living room, at her own expense, she began sending gift packages to the troops. As you can see from the photo, Ms. Blashek's one-woman project has grown. Read about it in Jewish Current Issues.