Volunteers "join hands" to send military care packages

Alexandra Pick joined other volunteers Saturday to pack boxes with food, toiletry and other items at Dollar Tree to be sent to the military. The project was part of Join Hands Day. [Click to enlarge]

Razors, toothpaste, beef jerky, gum, nuts -- all were items purchased and shipped to military men and women Saturday.

As part of the national Join Hands Day, local volunteers and members of the Plymouth County chapter of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans and Modern Woodmen of America came together at Dollar Tree in Le Mars.

Volunteers like Ruth Beamer and Judy Luebben shopped for various items to be shipped overseas.

"It's a wonderful cause," Beamer, who knows some local service men, said. "The more we love and support we can give; that's what they need."

The 19 volunteers packed about 15 rectangular shipping boxes which held around 20 items each.

The products and shipping costs were paid for with a $250 donation from Thrivent Financial for Lutherans and $100 from the Modern Woodmen of America, which are nonprofit insurance companies.

Cory Harman, youth leader for the Modern Woodmen of America, who organized the event Saturday, said local volunteers and organizations try to help mostly nonprofit organizations each year on Join Hands Day.

For example, one year they planted flowers at Memorial Park and another year helped out at the Plymouth County Historical Museum.

"It draws from the whole community," Harman said. "We just do this to hopefully help the community."

Luebben, who has helped with other Join Hands Day projects, said she sees it as a way to bring the community together for a common cause.

"It's a wonderful time to get everybody together," Luebben said. "It's something different every year."

National Join Hands Day is on the first Saturday in May and is intended for fraternal benefit societies and volunteer organizations to reach out to strangers, to connect generations and to develop new relationships, according to its website.

This year's Join Hands Day also lands during National Volunteer Week, April 27 to May 3.

"It's just support for the troops and appreciation," Harman said of this year's project.