Because Military Missions is a small nonprofit, we are really more like a family than a business.  Everyone rolls up their sleeves and works together to accomplish the goal of supporting our troops, our veterans, and their families. One of the awesome things about being a part of the leadership at Military Missions is that we are often approached by our volunteers with great ideas which we can quickly decide to initiate into hands on projects.

Last fall, we had a donation drive going on at Sam’s Club.  It’s actually a lot of work to set up one of these drives.  It takes a lot planning, a lot of set up, lots of manpower, and it can be exhausting.  Not only is it tiring, but it is not for the faint of heart as 90% of the people who pass the table try to avoid making eye contact because they don’t want to make a donation.  You have to be able to take the rejection which is why most people shy aware from this volunteer job.

One of our volunteers, Judy Blackburn, didn’t care about all of the difficulties.  Her son serves in the US Army and she knows how important it is to support our troops.  Even though she works two jobs and has only one day off each week, she offered to set up a booth at each of the Walmart stores in Lexington last October.  Every Sunday during the month, on her only day off, Judy got up early, recruited volunteers to help her, and set up and ran the donation booth all day long.

When Judy first came to me with the idea, I told her she was crazy! I let her know I appreciated her enthusiasm, but I really thought it was too much for one person to take on.  I know, firsthand, how easy it looks, but how hard it is to pull it off.  Judy already helps out with so much at Miltary Missions Inc and I couldn’t imagine her giving her only day off to such a taxing job.

Judy insisted she did not mind, in fact, she said it was the least she could do for our troops.  She said she was fortunate to have found something she can do for our troops because they do so very much for us. She knows that our troops work long and strenuous hours without complaining.  She stated that if this was a way to give back for what they give us daily, she would do all that she could to support and honor them.

Through her efforts, we were able to collect many items which were included in our Christmas care package mailing to 3000 troops.  In order to accomplish these great tasks, we rely on amazing volunteers such as Judy.  All of us at Military Missions are blessed to work alongside her and are so grateful she found us.

Judy is just one of our many volunteers who enjoy the opportunities our organization brings to the community.  If you are one who appreciates and loves your country and those who sacrifice so that we can live with freedom, we hope you will join us. Come meet Judy and many others like her who get joy out of giving back to our heroes and their families.

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