On Thursday (Aug. 5th), the Exchange Club of Highline put together 66 “Goodie Boxes” to send to U.S. troops in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The Club spent $3,000, and along with generous assistance from Evergreen Food Services, purchased items that troops have said they love to get – baby wipes, chapstick, peanuts, cookies, gum, trail mix, and beef jerky.

With help from Vicky Mohler of Support America’s Armed Forces, the Club had three different groups who received the Goodie Boxes. Members volunteered their time to assemble the boxes and get them to the post office for shipment.

Photos below show the boxes after being assembled by Club members:

According to their website:

Established in 1961, Exchange Club of Highline was formed with the goal of bringing business and community leaders together to support Youth, Americanism, Community Service, and the prevention of Child Abuse. By holding an annual fundraiser, the money generated is used to meet the ongoing needs of existing community organizations, and members volunteer their time to other community projects. As needs are brought to the club’s attention, members decide on the course of action allowing flexibility and responsiveness to the ever-changing needs of our Highline community.

Due to the current economic crisis, many of America’s soldiers will not be able to afford to come home for the holidays.

The Giving Zone, a Burien-based nonprofit organization, is launching Operation Home for the Holidays, which is seeking people to donate airline miles or credit card rewards to help these soldiers come home.

Monte Regier, Executive Director of The Giving Zone, explains, “Watching the economic crisis daily on the news, it very apparent the military families, our soldiers, will be hit the hardest this holiday season. Therefore, the reason for launching Operation Home for the Holidays. We at the Giving Zone, already being an airline miles and credit rewards donation portal for charities, are in the perfect position to make a difference for our American Heroes. We are asking for America’s help. Even though main street has been hit hard in their pocketbooks, they can still make a difference and help our soldiers thru donating their airline miles.”

The Giving Zone is a global reward incentive trading portal where dollars, points and miles earned as incentives from air travel, hotel, credit card purchases and other incentive programs can be donated to Giving Zone‘s registered projects. The Giving Zone is helping charities around the world ranging from food banks, homeless shelters, orphanages, medical research, national disaster relief projects, abuse shelters, missionaries, and many more.

Your airline miles and credit card reward points can be converted to cash equivalent for charities. Although this is a time cumbersome process for individual charities to do on their own, the Giving Zone is a mega website where non-profit organizations can be listed and people can go to the Giving Zone website to donate their miles and points or cash donations to the charity of their choosing. The Giving Zone takes care of all the details of converting the points to cash donations!

Make a difference today, and help America’s finest men & women come home for the holidays. Support Operation Home for the Holidays, donate your airline miles and credit card reward points at www.GivingZone.net.

For more information, contact Hope Kerkof, Public Relations Director at 206-420-4545.