Operation Jersey Cares Send Troops Overseas a Piece of Home for the Holidays Article from The Breeze January 2012
Alex Marracco’s son, Brendan, had to have both arms and both legs amputated after an EFP hit his vehicle while serving in Iraq.	The holiday packing event resulted in the shipment of 757 boxes totaling 30,280 lbs of supplies for our brave men and women in uniform stationed in Afghanistan.
On December 4th, approximately 200 volunteers of all ages attended a holiday packing event held at the Operation Jersey Cares facility next to Stop & Shop in Raritan. Operation Jersey Cares is a volunteer organization whose mission is to help our troops overseas as well as returning Soldiers and Marines who have been wounded in combat. The holiday packing event resulted in the shipment of 757 boxes totaling 30,280 lbs of supplies for our brave men and women in uniform stationed in Afghanistan. These packing events are held several times a year, but the holiday events seem to be the largest. Volunteers included OJC members, local families, as well as servicemen who have been past recipients of the care packages. Operation Jersey Cares ships items including food, personal care items, clothing, blankets, handmade quilts and pillows, phone cards, DVDs, stationery, magazines, paperbacks, and more. Thank-you letters and holiday cards are also included in the boxes. Items are donated by individuals, businesses, and through drives held regularly at local supermarkets. For this particular packing event, Promotion In Motion Companies Inc. contributed 23 pallets of M&M’s and Juiceful candies totaling 23,000 lbs. Michael Rosenberg, President & CEO of PIM Companies, Inc. was recognized by OJC along with Mary Jo Zrinko and Jim Finelli from PIM Brands, LLC for their valuable contributions to our troops overseas. Another major contributor to this packing event and involved with OJC for the past five years was Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage Cares. Andrea Kopon and Celeste Amann were onsite and recognized for their outstanding support of OJC. Operation Jersey Cares is also dedicated to helping wounded soldiers who have returned home to be with their families. Army Serviceman Brendan Marracco sustained severe, permanent and life changing injuries while serving in Iraq. Brendan had to have both arms and both legs amputated. Brendan’s father, Alex, was on hand at the packing event to share his son’s story. He said, “Brendan may have lost his arms and legs but he never lost his will to live and has maintained an extremely positive yet realistic attitude about his recovery and life after recovery.” You can help Brendan by supporting the Trust that was created in his name. The Trust will assist Brendan in his recovery by supplementing the cost of Brendan’s care, treatment, medical and extraordinary expenses. It is the Marrocco family’s sincere desire that once Brendan’s future becomes clearer, this Trust will be transformed into a Foundation with the mission of supporting other injured soldiers as they transition through their rehabilitation and into civilian life. If you are in a position to make a monetary contribution of any amount, your donation will be greatly appreciated. Checks should be made payable to The Brendan Marrocco Road to Recovery Trust and mailed to The Brendan Marrocco Road to Recovery Trust, P.O. Box 120197, Staten Island, NY 10312. Please visit www.BrendanMarrocco. org to learn more. In 2011 OJC collected, packed and shipped over 102,000 lbs of supplies to our military personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan. Since 2007, when OJC was started, over 350,000 lbs of supplies have been collected, packed and shipped to our military personnel in combat zones in Iraq and Afghanistan. To find out how you can help Operation Jersey Cares mission and to find a local donation drop off, please visit OJC’s website at Operationjerseycares. org.