Packaging care
By Brandon Davis
Published in News on August 16, 2016 1:46 PM
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
Barbara Whitehead fills up any extra space in a flat rate shipping box with bags of candy Thursday at NCPacks4Patriots in Ayden. Whitehead started the non-profit after her son enlisted in the Army, and now the volunteer-supported group sends hundreds of care packages to every brand of the military.
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
A flag signed by members of the 82nd Airborne who served with Whitehead's son hangs in the packing area of NCPacks4Patriots. Several shelves are filled with flags that were given to the non-profit as thank yous for the work the group does.
Staff Sgt. Theodore Boswell told his wife, Tiffany, to not send him care packages after his deployment from Seymour Johnson Air Force Base.
He wanted her to save money.
But when Boswell arrived at his deployment location in June, his opinion of care packages quickly changed.
"When he got over there he was like, 'Yeah, it would be really nice to receive care packages,'" Mrs. Boswell said. "I don't even think he realized how much of an effect it would be to get those kind of things.
"We sent him a box, and the next time I heard from him, he was like, 'That was actually really nice, and I would really like another one'."
Mrs. Boswell married her husband in 2011 and moved to his hometown of Rocky Mount one year later from her hometown of Anchorage, Alaska. And though her mother suffered from health problems, she wanted her daughter to live her life and follow her husband.
"She told me, she said, 'You can't live your life in fear for me. You have to do what's best for you and what you want to do. And we'll make it work,'" Mrs. Boswell said.
She gave birth to her son, Christian, two years ago, and her life seemed to be under control. But her husband's first deployment caused Mrs. Boswell to make a tough adjustment.
She stayed busy and enrolled in summer classes at Nash Community College to obtain a nursing assistant certification.
Mrs. Boswell also took time out of her schedule to assemble a care package for her husband.
The expensive process of packing, taping and labeling a box pushed her to seek advice from her in-laws. This led Mrs. Boswell to seek guidance from her family by marriage, Barbara Whitehead.
Mrs. Whitehead's son, Jason, joined the Army in 2003, and she began sending her son -- who is married to Mrs. Boswell's sister-in-law, Ashley -- care packages. Mrs. Whitehead soon became a member of a national care package organization to send items to more soldiers than just her son.
But after the national organization closed in 2010 because of soldiers returning, Mrs. Whitehead developed a nonprofit organization, located at 249 E. Third St. in Ayden. It remains the only one in North Carolina and continues to send packages to 4,000 soldiers from each branch of military.
"Probably since 2012, we've heard that the war's over, the troops are home," Mrs. Whitehead said. "So a lot of organizations disbanded, donations totally dried up, and we really needed to get the message out that the war is not over, the troop's are not home, the mission is not over.
"We still need and appreciate all those packages."
She said her organization provides items for 2,000 airmen deployed from Seymour Johnson. The items reflect North Carolina, and include such items as wildlife magazines and Our State. Mrs. Whitehead said a picture of their state will ease troops, who have strenuous days on a base. She also said food, such as Mount Olive pickles, is a big hit.
But one of the simplest items that makes soldiers happy is the Oreo cookie, according to Mrs. Whitehead.
"Everybody has their favorite thing that means home to them," she said. "And I think that a 50-cent pack of little individual packs of Oreos means as much as a piece of equipment they need to replace."
Eight to 10 volunteers work on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays at NCPacks4Patriots to help people organize care packages with food, cards and videos. Mrs. Whitehead said people can set up their care packages on tables at the organization, and volunteers will assist them with making cards or giving a care package a certain theme such as movie night, recreation or holiday packages.
Mrs. Whitehead's organization ships 20 to 24 care packages in one day.
Care packages include hygiene items such as sunscreen lotion, disposable razors and mouth wash, while hard candy, gum and microwavable popcorn can be added for snacks. Other items include military socks, shoe laces and foam footballs.
Mrs. Whitehead said people can donate stamps and labels for packaging, and she also encourages children to take out the markers and construction paper and donate a drawing to a soldier.
"Every package we send contains 15 to 20 cards and letters," she said. "We send them children's artwork. We love cards and letters. They're just hysterically funny."
Mrs. Whitehead's experience allowed Mrs. Boswell to begin preparation for what seemed like an overwhelming task.
"I told her (Mrs. Whitehead), 'I've never done this before', so she kind of took the reins and said, 'He's going to want this and this and this,'" Mrs. Boswell said. "She completely helped me out. It's great to have somebody with that much experience and knowledge to kind of lead the way."
Mrs. Boswell said she placed personal items in the box such as a toothbrush, toothpaste, crackers, books and magazines, but Mrs. Whitehead upped the gifts by making homemade cakes for Mrs. Boswell to send. Her sister-in-law surprised Mrs. Boswell with cakes in jars for an easy shipment, suggested by Mrs. Whitehead.
Her husband received his first Mrs. Whitehead-organized care package, and he called his wife to let her know how much it meant to him. He thanked her for the personal items, but he told her the cards from his wife were more personal.
His wife even saved money by using NCPacks4Patriots' flat rate boxing.
"Care packages can be very expensive for a young family's budget," Mrs. Whitehead said. "So by offering suggestions and tips for care package items and supplementing with our packages, it helps Tiffany stretch the family budget."
But everything is not a "care package problem" according to Mrs. Whitehead. She said her organization also links Seymour Johnson wives with plumbers, electricians and exterminators. NCPacks4Patriots will also find someone to help a wife with yard work and car maintenance.
Mrs. Whitehead said Mrs. Boswell has become more confident since her husband's deployment, and she said her relationship has grown stronger with Mrs. Boswell -- as "she is not alone".
"Being new to deployments, there are so many stresses and worries," Mrs. Whitehead said. "Tiffany and her hubby are fun, energetic and full of love and faith, so helping her navigate this journey is so rewarding."
Mrs. Boswell graduated from the Nurse Aide Level I program at the community college on Aug. 8, and she remains busy with her son, her job and her in-laws -- and filling up care package boxes.
"It's harder for people when their family isn't around, or they don't know anybody, they're completely new to the area," Mrs. Boswell said. "And then they have to go through a deployment on top of that. It can be unbelievably hard."