Published: September 12, 2006 12:00 am print this story email this story Community keeps the troops warm By Jason Tait Eagle-Tribune View as a multiple pages METHUEN - Theresa Robinson dressed for the occasion to mark an event she will never forget. The senior citizen wore a yellow ribbon on her collar and an American flag scarf around her neck as she packed fleece blankets into shipping boxes bound for troops in Iraq and Afghanistan yesterday. "It's to help our boys who are over there," said Robinson, one of about a dozen volunteers who prepared care packages for the troops. On the fifth anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, New England Caring For Our Military, a Methuen-based organization that provides care packages for the troops, mailed 1,200 fleece blankets yesterday to war zones. James Sereigo-Wareing, the founder of the care package organization, called it a positive community effort marking a grim anniversary. Among the volunteers were children at Tenney Grammar School, who filled out address labels last week. "How better a way to recognize the victims of Sept. 11 than to support the troops," Sereigo-Wareing said. Malden Mills donated the fleece blankets, valued at up to $50,000, Sereigo-Wareing said. The boxes were donated by Ideal Box Co. on Merrimack Street. Volunteers from the Methuen Senior Activity Center and CLASS, an organization for people with physical and behavioral disabilities, helped stack 12 blankets into each of the boxes. Letters from Sereigo-Wareing explaining the origins of the blankets were stuffed into each fleece sack, a job done by Chelmsford resident Rita Salenne of the CLASS program, among others. Her hands were cramping yesterday with about 1,100 more blankets to go, but she soldiered on. "The troops need to be warm," she said. Fleece blankets were stacked about 5 feet high along the walls of Sereigo-Wareing's home basement on Howe Street. Scott Main of CLASS, an Andover resident, had the job of stacking the shipping boxes outside so a truck could take them to a post office. "I'm one of the fastest ones to do this job, anyway," he said, laughing loudly when told he had about 102 more boxes to stack. George Lafitte served for nine years in the Army during World War II and the Korean War, and his service to the military continued yesterday. He and his wife, Yvonne Lafitte, were among the four Senior Center volunteers. "They should get all the support they can get," Yvonne Lafitte said of why she volunteered to help. Military personnel can visit the New England Caring For Our Military Web site to register for care packages. Since Sept. 7, 2004, it has shipped 3,649 care packages worth about $136,270. The troops come from all over the nation. Yesterday's shipment cost $2,000, he said. Sereigo-Wareing is known locally for displaying American and military flags on highway overpasses, such as the Howe Street bridge over Route 213. New England Caring For Our Military What: Nonprofit organization that mails care packages to military personnel Where: P.O. Box 2311, Methuen, MA 01844 On the Web: www.necfom.org Results: Since Sept. 7, 2004, it has shipped 3,649 care packages worth about $136,270 Volunteers: About 6,000 volunteers have helped, mostly students, seniors and Girl Scouts print this story email this story

Jason Tait
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