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Pocono News Section
Union For Soldiers Needs Your Help
Union For Soldiers Needs Your Help - Friday, August 15, 2008 at 6:01PM EST
Reported by: Jill Konopka
Friday, Aug 15, 2008 @ 06:01pm EST
(West Hazleton, wilkes-barre, Luzerne County) – A few good men transport this last batch of dial soap from the Dial Corporation onto an M. K 27 truck. Inside these boxes; 24-hundred bottles of white tea and vitamin E hand soap. Terry Hartladge is the plant manager, “We are donating 400 cases of liquid soap to support the troops of Luzerne County." It's all part of an effort called “Union for Soldiers.” All summer long, Luzerne Counties' union employees gathered items for local men and women serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. Denise Shimko is a County Employee and Union Representative, "It started with a girl in our office, whose son is over there and she was telling me stories of stuff needed and I felt terrible about it and I thought why don't we do something?" A few marines got the call to help deliver the dial to a storage warehouse in Wilkes-Barre. After all, they know what it like is to fight on the front lines. Richard Wren oversees the County Department of Veterans Affairs. In a few hours, he's also expecting his son to return home from Iraq. Wren told Eyewitness News, "It personalized the process. I sometimes get calls on occasion; tell us the needs to pass on to the community at large and this really helps." The collection took on a life of its own, now the county employees need help shipping these items overseas. Shimko added, "It's difficult to get the items to them, cost money, get donations to send the rest of the items over there.” Not to mention, the added weight of six-hundred donated newspapers from the Citizens Voice and Hazleton Standard Speaker. If you want to help union for soldiers ship the items overseas - you can contact Denise Shimko at 824-7214 | | |
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