"Pride
Packages"
C/O Pat Garlick
903 West North First St.
Shelbyville, IL 62565
For monetary donations,
checks can be made payable to:
"Pride Packages"
C/O Pat Garlick
Community Banks of Shelby County Shelbyville Facility
Route 16 Shelbyville, IL 62565
Pride Packages is NOT an 501(c)
3 organization and your donation is not approved for a tax deduction,
but a "GIFT FROM THE HEART" 100% of monetary donations go toward
the cost of postage required to send the packages through the
U.S. Postal Service, and the cost of supplies to be shipped. "Pride
Packages" is funded entirely by private donations and staffed
exclusively by volunteers.
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Your Visitor
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E-mail
Us @ patspridepackages@yahoo.com
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What
is Pride Packages?
Touched by Pat's Marine son's plea for
his fellow comrades that were not receiving packages in Iraq,
Pat Garlick decided that the least she could do to help our service
people would be to support our U.S. troops abroad and provide
what would become know as "Pride Packages."
Inside each package will include a personal note as well as daily
devotions and an e-mail address where the service people can contact
her with any special needs that they may have while they are deployed.
Pat writes to her Marine
son everyday and she knows how important mail and packages are
to him. Her son says that you never get enough mail and packages
from home.
Pat has written numerous
letters to Marines that were not getting mail and sent packages
to Marines that were not getting packages. It breaks my heart
when I hear that our sons and daughters are fighting in a war
thousands of miles away and they aren't receiving letters of support
or packages from back home. As long as the war continues, I will
send "Pride Packages" till all our service people are back home
from being deployed abroad.
Even though a package may
be addressed to one soldier, the items may be shared and end up
helping a handful of soldiers.
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News & Updates
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Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Garlicks To Appear On Oprah Show
JOHN CARSWELL - Daily Union Staff Writer
After two years of sending Pride Packages to soldiers stationed in Iraq, Eric and Pat Garlick are close to receiving a package of pride themselves. Their son, Marine Lance Corporal Evan Garlick, arrived in North Carolina on Monday after being stationed in Iraq.
However, the long-awaited reunion will be slightly delayed while the Garlicks make an unexpected side trip to Chicago to meet Oprah Winfrey. “The Oprah show got in touch with us on Sunday and verified all our information. The parents leave tomorrow and the boys leave tonight,” said Eric.
The group reunion between 33 Marines and their parents will take place live on the Oprah Show, Wednesday, April 4, 4:00 p.m. on Channel 3, WCIA Champaign, IL.
Eric and Pat Garlick called the Daily Union with the news from their cell phone in Jacksonville, NC. “This is so exciting!” said Pat. “We didn’t know about any of this until we were already on our way to Camp Lejeune. Evan called us from Kuwait and said, ‘Mom, how do you feel about seeing me in Chicago?’”
Evan and his unit, Company A, 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, have been stationed in the treacherous Anbar province, an area that Pat called “A place of major insurgency...a very, very dangerous place.”
For the Garlicks, Evan’s return is very good news mixed with just a little disappointment. The Garlicks had just finished the trek from Shelbyville to North Carolina, “14 hours and 989 miles,” said Eric.
“We were looking forward to meeting him here at Camp Lejeune, but we will not get to see him until Chicago. We will go ahead and attend the reunion here with the 200 other soldiers who are not going to the show. I am not sure how the selection process was done, but I know that the parents had to be willing to go to Chicago to participate,” said Pat.
The Garlicks will park their car at the base and a bus will transport them and the other 64 parents to the Raleigh-Durham airport. From there, they will fly to Chicago and Oprah picks up the tab. “All expenses are paid by the show,” said Pat. “The airfare, meals, lodging and other expenses are all taken care of.”
When Evan was first deployed to Iraq, he wrote back to his parents telling how so many of the soldiers didn’t receive any packages from home. Eric and Pat Garlick quickly responded by sponsoring rummage sales to raise funds.
The on-going Pride Package efforts not only captured the attention of Shelby County residents but also Congressman John Shimkus (R-Illinois-19) who stopped in Shelbyville to pay a visit to the Garlicks. Shimkus expressed both gratitude and support for the Garlicks’ undertakings. “We really appreciate your effort, and just wanted to stop by and encourage you,” said Shimkus.
The Garlicks began Pride Packages in 2005, not long after Evan’s first deployment to Iraq. Since then, they have sent over 370 boxes from home containing toiletries, socks, toothpaste, snacks, cookies and letters of encouragement.
Although Evan is home on leave, he still has another 10 months left in the Marines. “He just completed his second tour and we are hoping he doesn’t have to go back again,” said Pat.
Evan and Joseph Doerr garnered national exposure when recently featured in an Associated Press photograph, taking their wounded commanding officer to safety after an IED (Improvised Explosive Device) went off. Garlick himself was also wounded in the back of his leg and was later awarded the Purple Heart for bravery in the line of fire.
After the Oprah show, the Garlicks will fly back to Camp Lejeune and drive back to Shelbyville where they can finally be reunited in the comfort of their own home.
Will Pat Garlick continue to send the Pride Packages after her son is back home? She responded, “As long as the war continues, I will send Pride Packages. I am committed to this program until all our service people are back home.”
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Congressman
Shimkus Visits Pride Packages
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Operation
Ho Ho Ho Packing Photos
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Pride Packages Garage
Sale Fund Raiser
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Food Items
Granola bars
Oreos
Gum
Pop tarts
Nutri grain bars
Pringles
Starburst
Skittles
Powered gator aid
Presweetened kool aid
Breakfast bars
Chex mix
Nacho cheese dip in cans
Rice krispies treats
Small containers of Dinty Moore beef stew
Ravioli
Easy mac & cheese
Ramen noodles
Beef jerky
Pudding
Applesauce
Peaches
Pretzels
Fruit by the foot
Sunflower seeds
Summer sausage
Cheese
Crackers
Squeeze peanut butter
Squeeze jelly
Ketchup/mustard/relish packets
Hot sauce packets
Slim Jims
Non-Food Items
Batteries AA
Writing Tablets
Ink Pens
White Socks
Word Find Books
Crossword Puzzle Books DVD's (You can get $1 DVD's at Wal-Mart)
Hand Held Games Paperback Books Magazines (hunting, sports,
etc.)
Aqua Drops
Eyedrops
Wipes Without Alcohol
Foot Powder
Total Sent
1,037
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