It was truly a community affair.
The CV Chamber of Commerce partnered with former La Crescenta resident Nancy Riehl, who now lives in Long Beach, to launch Stockings for our Troops in Afghanistan, an outreach to military personnel stationed in Afghanistan.
Riehl’s son is serving in Afghanistan and she knows all too well what it means to be without your loved ones during the holidays. She decided to do something to help bring a little bit of home to the troops.
“Nancy and I were active in the PTA together,” said Mary Boger, Glendale Unified School District board member.
Riehl contacted Boger, asking if the schools could help gather the stockings and supplies.
“I told her I thought it would be too late in the year to start something at the schools but told her to contact Jean Maluccio at the CV Chamber of Commerce,” Boger said.
Riehl contacted Maluccio and the program took off from there.
A call was put out to the community through the chamber of commerce and other civic organizations to help fill 176 stockings and help with the cost of shipping. Donors were asked to bring their donations to the chamber office no later than Oct. 29. An unexpectedly generous outpouring of items was donated resulting in more than 180 stockings being stuffed. Donated items were varied, ranging from sun block to underwear.
“It was amazingly successful,” Boger said. “It really is a tribute to the CV [community] and how they are. And it is a tribute to Jean and the chamber.”
The stockings are being shipped to Riehl’s son’s company in Afghanistan.
The chamber received support through donations from individuals and several businesses including: Womens Auxiliary American Legion, La Crescenta Womans Club, Toni’s Cut ‘n’ Curls, Crippen Mortuary, Girl Scout Troop 391, Ryan’s Residential, Doug Dall (principal Clark Magnet), Starbucks and Taco Bell in La Cañada. The UPS store and La Crescenta Post Office also helped in the shipping. Several Long Beach businesses also helped support the stocking effort.
Helping to bring the holidays to our military in Afghanistan, one stocking at a time added by CV Weekly on
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