Giving Back -- Operation Care and Comfort

Blog

October 05, 2020

This issue we are highlighting Operation Care and Comfort (OCC), an all-volunteer 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that brings people together to donate their time, talents, and funds to honor and help both active-duty military and those who have served in the past. According to information from the organization, it was established in April 2003 when the three cofounders decided to combine their efforts to send packages to military troops stationed in combat zones overseas.

While OCC’s initial focus was providing monthly care packages for troops deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq, the organization now provides support and comfort to dozens of “adopted” units of deployed U.S. military service members serving in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other conflict regions. Working with donations received from helpers from across the U.S., OCC volunteers assemble and mail care packages to these adopted units until they return home. The organization says that it currently sends supplies to dozens of overseas units and ships on a monthly basis, working from large quarterly volunteering events, with smaller events in between. OCC statistics state that the group has packed and mailed over a million pounds worth of care packages to active-duty troops.

Other programs sponsored by OCC include Tickets for Troops, which distributes donated tickets to sporting events to eligible veterans; and Adopt A Military Family, in which individuals, organizations, and companies anonymously “adopt” a military family to donate to and support throughout the year.

For additional information on Operation Care and Comfort, please visit https://www.occ-usa.org/.