For the 17th consecutive year, RK elves have packed and shipped supplies and goodies for troops serving in far way places over the holidays. This year’s packages will be delivered to friends and family on the USS Harry Truman, the USS Carl Vinson and troops stationed in South Korea, Hungary and Italy.

The care packages include necessities like socks, deodorant, shaving cream, razors and other expensive or hard to get items along with treats, snacks, drink mixes, coffee and more.  In addition, the packages are filled with holiday cheer including handmade cards and decorated stockings.

“This year’s boxes included more than 800 handmade holiday cards from the teachers and students at Jensen Beach High School and The Benjamin School,” said Caryn George, a legal assistant at RumbergerKirk who coordinates the program. “They have adopted our holiday troop shipment as a service project for the past several years and the cards they create bring a lot of joy to people away from their families over the holidays.”

The firm also had help from the Sanford Elks who participated in a stocking decorating party and Milestone Reporting who donated supplies and helped pack boxes.

Three to four times a year, RumbergerKirk employees donate the personal hygiene and treats that go in the boxes. They also contribute money to assist in buying additional items for the packages and for postage. While the packages are typically sent from the Orlando office, attorneys and staff from all of the offices participate.

The program continues to be successful because of the many volunteers who keep it running year after year. The program was inspired by Lisa Griffin, a legal secretary at the firm for many years who retired last year. After receiving packages from home, her son who was serving in the U.S. Marines and deployed to Iraq told her that many others were not as fortunate. The firm rallied behind her and the troop shipment program has been going strong ever since thanks to the support of so many across the firm.