Herndon, VA, Nov. 15, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Teaching children the value of giving back by donating Halloween candy in support of Operation Gratitude is a win-win for kids and our deployed military.
Local military children joined kids across the country to donate their extra Halloween candy to Operation Gratitude. Lincoln Military Housing served as a local collection site throughout the Mid-Atlantic and Southwest regions.
Over 250 pounds of candy along with handwritten thank you letters will be mailed to U.S. service members deployed overseas, and hand-delivered to veterans and first responders serving in their local communities.
“Operation Gratitude’s mission is to thank all who serve, forging strong bonds between grateful Americans and the Heroes who serve and protect them,” according to Kevin Schmiegel, Lieutenant Colonel, USMC (Ret.) and CEO of Operation Gratitude. “The Halloween Candy Give-Back Program provides every American child the opportunity to learn about service, sacrifice, and generosity.”
Americans spend an estimated 2.5 billion dollars on a whopping 600 million pounds of Halloween candy each year. In 2018, more than 440,000 pounds of candy was donated to Operation Gratitude and distributed to America’s heroes in Operation Gratitude Care Packages and local deliveries around the country.
About Lincoln Military Housing
Lincoln Military Housing (LMH) was formed in 2001 through a Department of Defense (DOD) contract with parent company Lincoln Property Company. The goal has always been to increase the quality of military housing for our nation's servicemen and women. Since its inception more than a decade ago, Lincoln Military Housing now provides more than 36,000 family homes for military members across the US. Lincoln is much more than a property management company. LMH acts as a support system for military families and offers community-building activities and 24-hour maintenance assistance programs, free, to all of their residents. Services are available for members of all branches of service -- Marine Corps, Army, Navy, Air Force, United States Coast Guard, and National Guard. For more information about Lincoln Military Housing, please visit www.lincolnmilitary.com for more information.
About Operation Gratitude
Demonstrating that actions speak louder than words, Operation Gratitude is a national nonprofit organization that provides tangible ways to forge strong bonds between Americans and their Military and First Responder Heroes through volunteer service projects, acts of gratitude, and meaningful engagements in communities nationwide. Through its customized Care Package programs, Operation Gratitude has provided opportunities for millions of Americans to say “Thank You” to more than 2.3 million of our nation’s Heroes since 2003. In 2019, Operation Gratitude launched its “Make Every Minute Count” campaign with the goal of delivering 525,600 Care Packages – one every minute of the year – to Service Members, their families at home, Veterans, and First Responders. Awarded a 4-Star rating from Charity Navigator and a Platinum rating from Guidestar, 94 percent of Operation Gratitude’s expenditures go directly to programs that support our nation’s men and women in uniform at home and abroad. To learn more, visit www.operationgratitude.com.