FOR A GOOD CAUSE:Lifting overseas soldiers’ spirits

NEWPORT BEACH —

Years ago, Newport Beach resident Beverly Morgan received a care package from her parents while she was away at camp as a child.

The package was filled with simple things, candy and comic books, but Morgan has never forgotten how it felt to pick up the package and enjoy some of the everyday pleasures she had been without.

Earlier this year, Morgan read about Operation Interdependence in a monthly e-mail blast from her employer. The delivery system program called for civilians to assemble care packages for the men and women deployed overseas.

She thought about receiving her care package while she was away at a fun childhood camp and could only imagine how soldiers might feel if and when they received one while fighting for the country.

“It really touched me, and I went on to the website and really learned a lot about it [Operation Interdependence], and it made me imagine being on the worst backpacking trip of your life with six months without access to the store,” she said. “That’s what I imagined the soldier might experience.”

Morgan hosted a bag-stuffing party Tuesday evening in conjunction with Operation Interdependence.

“I’m here because I want to support the troops and uplift them in these hard times when they want to be home,” Laura Dunn of Newport Beach said. “They’re there for us, and we need to be there for them.”

Dunn and more than 15 other women ate, drank and chatted while they put gum, disposable razors, candy bars, nuts and seeds, lip balm, beef jerky and other items into quart-sized plastic bags. They ran out of bags after stuffing 230.

“The way I’m approaching the project is I’m making it fun, inviting my best girlfriends and neighbors who each bring 48-count of a manufacture-sealed item, I provide the Ziplocs, refreshments and beverages,” she said. “It’s a win-win; we have fun, and we’re doing good.”

This is the second party Morgan has participated in. The first was earlier in the year at a friend’s house. With the packages, Morgan included a photo of all the women who participated with a note that read, “Our thoughts and prayers are with you. We hope you enjoy the enclosed, from the girls of the OC.”

She included her personal e-mail address and two months later received a letter from 1st Lt. Curtis Shreve of a Marine Headquarters and Service Company talking about how the packages had boosted company morale after an attack that hadn’t caused any major injuries but had taken a toll on their spirits.

“I burst into tears, I was so happy,” Morgan said. “It’s so neat to know that they really do touch someone.”

The organization’s goal is to send a package, a note or a treat once a month to each regularly deployed serviceman or woman while they are overseas.

“Nobody likes war, but they’re there in the spirit of peace and liberty, which seems like an ironic thing to say about war, but we need to be consistent in our support,” Patti Janssen of Balboa Island said.

There are different ways to get involved with Operation Interdependence, with Morgan’s role as a hostess being one of them. For more information about the organization, go to www.oidelivers.org.