Solvang care packages go to troops in cold regions

SOLVANG, Calif. - The Christmas spirit extends beyond Julefest in the Santa Ynez valley.

Solvang veterans are sending care packages to deployed troops.

'We Support the Troops' holds monthly care package preparation sessions, now going on twenty years.

“Starting in '04 when it looked like it wasn't going to be a quick in and out, but an extended war,” says Patricia Sullivan, Air Force veteran and project organizer. 

Sullivan says little things mean even more when you’re far from home.

“I know what the folks are going through. Particularly, the young troops that first time away from home, They get someplace like Poland. They don't know the language. It's really tough,” Sullivan says. 

At 0800 sharp, vets and volunteers from Vandenberg Space Force Base started setting up supplies Wednesday morning.

“Nine-C.O.S.—Ninth Combat Operations Squadron—out of Vandenberg. We come out here once a month to support and help deliver these out to our deployed troops,” says Ryan Page, a volunteer from the base.

The current batch is being sent to some very cold locations, like Poland, Latvia, and Estonia—right on the border of southern Russia. 

“The folks in Estonia have very little time to prepare. And I had ordered some cold weather gear, but it didn't come. So we'll send it in January,” says Sullivan. 

Some of the gloves, scarves, and helmet liners being sent were hand-knit by folks at the Solvang senior center.

“When you're away from family, just receiving these these little like tokens, it just shows that somebody is thinking about them,” says Page.

Non-profit group, “We Support the Troops” welcomes volunteers and donations year-round.