Four years ago, when Charlotte Cito began coordinating mailings of needed items to local troops serving abroad, it was with the hope they would all be coming home soon.
Today, with troop numbers rising in Iraq and Afghanistan, Cito’s role as a liaison between Lake Orion-area service personnel, their families and home town, has taken on added significance.
Last Monday, as part of her ‘Guardian Angel? program, Cito sent out another 25 gift packages to local men and women serving at duty stations abroad.
A 27-year veteran of the Lake Orion post office, Cito said the packages had to be in the mail last week to ensure their arrival by Valentine’s Day.
‘This all started when a couple of our employees? kids were serving ,? Cito recalls. ‘I put a sign up in the post office lobby and asked our carriers if they knew of any local families that had people in the military. We started off with just two or three, and now there are 25.?
Cito says the cost of mailing each package is $8.10, or about $220 for the most recent mailing. She added that her daughter, Dawn Cito, has been helpful with the project, as have many others.
Assisting this time, were girls from Girl Scout Troop #1363 of Lake Orion. Under the supervision of Scout Leader Sandy Klersy, the girls helped fill each of the gift boxes with needed items and goodies for the troops abroad.
Cito also acknowledged support from the local Kiwanis, VFW, Orion War Memorial veterans, Orion Township officials and her fellow postal employees, who donate money and items for the gift baskets.
The packages contain personal items such as socks, deodorant, eye drops, Chapstick, sunscreen and toothpaste, along with healthy foods such as raisins and canned fruits and vegetables. Each package also includes something with entertainment value, like music CDs or DVDs.
The most recent mailing included copies of the Lake Orion Review, so the troops can catch up on the goings-on back home.
Cito said once the latest shipment is sent out, she will begin concentrating on putting together the next batch of packages.
‘In mid-March, donations will be needed again so we can get something to our troops for Easter,? she says.
For anyone wishing to donate money or items for upcoming gift baskets, they may be dropped off in the front lobby of the Lake Orion Post Office, in the area beneath the ‘Heroes Board,? says Cito.
Cito says Operation Guardian Angel has been a big success and is personally rewarding.
‘Most of these people are in the war zone,? she says. ‘It makes me feel good when they are able to come home and stop by the post office to say ‘hello? and ‘thanks? for remembering them. I just start to cry.?
The Lake Orion Post Office is located at 611 N. Axford, west of M-24, north of Indianwood Rd. and across from the Kroger store.
To make a donation of money or goods, call Cito at (248)693-8369.