1/26/02
Operation Interdependence™ | Local woman helps send a little bit of home to deployed troops
By Cheryl Walker
Staff Writer
The San Diego Union-Tribune
VALLEY CENTER — Shirley Skinner has a grandson in the military. She often sends him some of his favorite things, such as chocolate chip cookies. Since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, she has been looking for a way to give others in the armed forces a taste of home.
She found a way to do it through Operation Interdependence™, a civilian-to-military delivery system® run by volunteers all over San Diego County. Now she's baking batches of 100 cookies at a time.
The program is the brainchild of Albert R. Renteria of Oceanside, president of the Navy League of the United States, Tri-City Council. He had begun organizing the program before the Sept. 11 attacks.
"I feel that we always need to support our military whether we're involved in a war or not," he said. "The Sept. 11 attack just accelerated the program. The motto of Operation Interdependence™ is `The most we can do, the best they can be.'"
Renteria said one of the benefits of the program is that the source of the packages is known and responsible. Service members are reached via a single point of contact and items for the entire platoon are included.
Skinner, a local resident, is the local leader of the effort for Valley Center. In December, she began contacting people to submit gifts such as soap, lotion, combs, shampoo, gum and dried fruit. She collects the items, making separate baggies for each platoon member. Then she boxes them and gets them to Staff Sgt. Wilson of the 3rd Platoon, Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Division at Camp Pendleton.
"All of these little items are really appreciated by our people in the military," Skinner said. "I think this is a good system. I'm getting as many volunteers as I can and I'm letting them know I expect a commitment. I think that donating a few items a month for a year is good. It's not expensive. You don't have to buy a bunch of items -- just some used books or packages of nuts."
In her first week of recruiting, Skinner received 12 calls. She also received a letter from Jennifer Weissman, marketing services manager at Rincon Casino.
"Several spouses of our employees have been deployed early or unexpectedly and supporting our troops in this manner is a wonderful way for us to show our employees we care and let them know we are sympathetic to the unexpected changes they are experiencing," Weissman said.
Each month, Skinner plans to send a box weighing a maximum of 30 pounds to Wilson.
"They'll enjoy anything they receive, especially food because they'll share," Skinner said. "A lot of people up here have fruit trees, so I expect to get a lot of dried fruit. I make a lot of oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. I figure if you're going to mess up your kitchen, you need to make the most of it."
To donate items, contact Skinner at (760) 749-5657.
Do you have a story idea for Valley Center? Contact Cheryl Walker by e-mail at cheryl.walker@uniontrib.com or phone (760) 752-6736. Information may also be sent by fax to (619) 260-5092.