Mark Van Trees received the Champion of Service Award presented by Gov. Rick Scott on Nov. 12 for his work with Support the Troops. And it would be a good story — except Van Trees doesn’t like talking about it.
“It’s certainly not deserved,” the Wesley Chapel organization’s director said.
Instead, Van Trees prefers to talk about the dozens of volunteers who stock, store and pack the steady stream of care packages that get shipped to military personnel overseas. He believes they’re the ones who deserve to be honored.
He also likes talking about Bob Williams, the founder of Support the Troops, who worked tirelessly growing the organization until an accident in 2012 left him unable to continue the project.
Williams deserves the credit, Van Trees insists, as indicated by the hundreds of certificates of appreciation addressed to him that decorate Van Trees’ office and the walls of the facility, located at 29807 State Road 54, that ships the packages. Williams now resides at Baldomero Lopez State Veterans Nursing Home in Land O’ Lakes, and Van Trees is now the person who works six days a week, raising money for the seemingly endless postage expenses associated with shipping thousands of care packages overseas every year.
The recipients live on military bases that don’t have the facilities for personnel to get the basic comfort items we take for granted in the United States, he said.
And while receiving the award was a proud moment, Van Trees keeps a more personal kind of recognition in a box by his desk.
“Thank you so much for the gifts. They are greatly appreciated,” reads one card from a member of the military.
“Thank you very much for your recent donation,” starts another from a group hosting a charity golf event.
“We would like to offer our sincerest gratitude and appreciation,” continues another card.
They arrive daily from different groups and individuals from the Tampa Bay area and throughout the world. The thank you cards are small but meaningful tokens of gratitude from those who have been touched by Support the Troops and its mission, and each one means a lot to its director.
“We read every one and then we post them out there (in the work areas) and we let all the volunteers know,” Van Trees said. “They’re not for me. They’re for the volunteers.”
The packages themselves mean a lot to the recipients and the entire unit that shares in the bounty. Coffee, toothpaste, razors and socks are minor comforts, but coveted items for military members stationed far from home.
Once Support the Troops gets requests from the soldiers or their families, volunteers assemble a 50-pound care package and dispatch it to bases in Africa, Afghanistan and other locales.
They also take donations, whether it’s pallets of surplus Girl Scout Cookies or a single five-pack of razors. They accept private donations and whatever few dollars local residents can spare. The donations go to military-related causes, whether the items get shipped in care packages, or provide comfort to local homeless veterans, or are donated to other organizations with similar goals.
They also ship a lot of candy, and those supplies are often replenished by donations as well. Last week, more than 320 pounds of Halloween leftovers made their way to Support the Troops courtesy of Academy at the Lakes, a private preparatory school in Land O’ Lakes.
The school’s National Junior Honor Society collects candy for Support the Troops every year, and the amount they donate grows annually as well. Colleen McCormick, a teacher at the school who delivered the candy, said the school was enthusiastic about seeing it all go to a worthy cause.
“Our families are so great and so involved,” McCormick said. “It’s rewarding for (students) to see it all come together and then being given away.”
Even though donations keep the shelves stocked and the boxes full — and the volunteer staff keeps things moving — postage costs can be daunting. At nearly $50 per package, it adds up quickly. Support the Troops spent more than $160,000 last year, Van Trees said, just to ship the packages.
But if that’s the cost to fulfill every request and keep the post office busy (each recipient receives packages every couple of weeks while stationed overseas), Van Trees will keep finding a way to pay the tab. The important thing, he said, is that the ones sacrificing overseas, and missing holidays, birthdays and other life events with their family, never feel forgotten.
Even if the media moves on to other topics, or spends more time on celebrities than soldiers, Van Trees wants people to remember there are still thousands serving in remote locations whose days are brightened by receiving a box shipped from Wesley Chapel.
“It’s like Christmas,” he said of their reaction when receiving a package. “The thing we battle every day is to let people (here) know they’re still over there.”
To make donations to Support the Troops, or request care packages for a member of the military, call (813) 991-4256, visit OurTroopsOnline.com, or e-mail Van Trees at .
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