CONG Treats for Troops

The Colorado National Guard Family Programs office joined dozens of volunteers to assemble holiday packages for deployed servicemembers in one massive team effort Dec. 2, 2011, at the CONG state headquarters in Centennial, Colo. In addition to CONG Soldiers and Airmen, volunteers for the event included members of the Buckley Field Young Marines, the 460th Space Wing, Hearts Across the Miles, Rocky Mountain Honda Dealers and Lennar Homes. Items in the packages include snacks, sweets, toiletry items, Starbucks coffee, books, playing cards and letters from children. The items were donated by patrons of Honda dealerships from Fort Collis to Pueblo, Colo., and then delivered by dealership volunteers. Honda presented a check for $5,000 to Hearts Across the Miles to cover the cost of shipping the packages to Afghanistan. According to CONG Family Programs Director Charlene Shields, the program was established locally nearly 10 years ago. (Colorado Army National Guard photo by Sgt. Joseph K. VonNida)