Operation Home For The Holidays
On a rainy Saturday, hundreds of people filled a design warehouse in Marlborough to raise money for “Operation Home for the Holidays.” The mission: bus Connecticut troops home for one last visit before they head off to the front lines. I was honored to be there and help the cause.
OHFH is a charity, started by Governor Jodi Rell, with the purpose of raising money to bring home Connecticut National Guard Members for the holidays. Seven hundred National Guard troops from all around Connecticut are about to be deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq. Before heading overseas, they are training in Indiana and Wisconsin.
This first leg of their journey keeps them hundreds of miles away from family during the holidays. Many of the troops can’t afford to travel home and will most likely stay on base, missing holiday dinners and the excitement of children opening gifts Christmas morning.
Martha Kirsche, who has a nephew in the Guard, wants to see him again before he leaves for the Middle East. “We’re hoping to bring him home for Christmas,” she said.
The event in Marlborough was spearheaded by a group of small business people. Lisa Davenport of “Lisa Davenport’s Home Designs”, her partner Ed Richman and their friends, Suzi Craig and Brent Robertson of the Fathom Group, came together for the project.
In all, $15,000 was raised toward the Governor’s goal of $200,000. To find out more on how you can help, log onto: http://www.ct.gov/mil/cwp/view.asp?a=1810&Q=285338&PM=1