retirees ask for donations instead of gifts at their retirement parties and family members give up birthday or holiday gifts in order to send care packages. It’s these acts of generosity that help fulfill OSOTIL’s two-fold mission.

“It is not only to support the morale and well-being of the troops,” Rickert says, “but always to keep the awareness in the minds of the citizens that our troops are still there. Our goal is to not go out and buy all the things that we send, but to involve the community.”

In the future, Rickert hopes to mobilize support in the Springfield area. Establishing drop-off locations would be easy, she says — recruiting a trucking company to transfer donations to Naperville once or twice a month might take more work.

While Smith and Rickert run operations to support troops overseas, other Illinois organizations focus on their families.

Last June Todd Schorle launched the Illinois chapter of Operation Homefront, a national organization that provides emergency support to families left behind during deployment. The organization manages a statewide database of mechanics, electricians, plumbers, movers and even “computer rescuers” who offer pro bono or discounted services to military families. Volunteers also provide food, baby supplies and furniture, as well as financial assistance to help pay mortgage, rent and utility bills.

In just eight months, Schorle’s organization has worked with military personnel to find and serve more than 1,000 families. He’s heard the stories of those left without a breadwinner or someone to fix things around the house. Recently, he worked to install a wheelchair ramp for a deployed service member’s disabled son. “It’s really a struggle, and I don’t think that most people see that or understand that as much as they should,” Schorle says. Since military families are spread across Illinois, Schorle says, he launched a gift card drive in December so community members and businesses could quickly donate to their cause. The organization collected more than 2,500 gift cards for such stores as Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Target and Pep Boys. Illinois’ Operation Homefront also works with Dollar Tree to conduct toy drives. In 2008 more than 195,000 toys were collected for Illinois military children. Through April 6, the organization will again partner with Dollar Tree to collect items for Easter baskets.

Shoppers in Springfield and other cities in Illinois can visit any store location to make contributions or purchase baskets, chocolate bunnies, candy, or plush toys. Local military units will use the items to build Easter baskets for families in need. Operation Homefront has hit the ground running in Illinois, Schorle says, providing assistance to families during the state’s “largest deployment since World War II.” Like the other organizations, Operation Homefront also seeks Springfield coordinators and volunteers to continue bridging the gap between deployed troops and their families at home. “We are a vehicle,” Schorle says. “We can calm the nerves of some of those soldiers who are overseas, so they don’t have to worry about their families at home.” The Illinois National Guard offers its own assistance to deployed service members and their families, particularly during reintegration.

Returning soldiers and airmen are required to enroll in the Yellow Ribbon program, initiated in 2007 to help service members transition back home. Illinois National Guard Specialist Samontae Hubbard says soldiers live in war zones for so long that they become adapted to their environments.

The Illinois National Guard calls on local agencies to help returning service members evaluate events that have occurred during deployment.

“You hear a lot of cases of soldiers coming back home, and they’re different,” Hubbard says. “We want to take care of our people.

That’s what we’re about.” The Illinois National Guard also conducts Reintegration Family Academies. Families meet with representatives from the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs and the Veteran’s Health Administration to prepare for their deployed service member’s return. They can also speak with private counselors and attend workshops that focus on marriage after deployment or the challenge of reuniting soldiers with their children.

Hubbard says the two programs have made a huge impact on reintegrating soldiers with their families: “Most soldiers have been deployed more than once and said they wished they had the program when they came home the first time.”

Contact Amanda Robert at [email protected].

Groups for the troops

Citizen S.A.M. www.citizensam.org P.O. Box 10565 Peoria, IL 61612 (309) 693-9533

Operation Support Our Troops-Illinois, Inc. www.osotil.org 1807 S. Washington St. Suite 110, #359 Naperville, IL 60565 (630) 971-1150

Operation Homefront - Illinois State Chapter www.operationhomefront.net P.O. Box 60096 Chicago, IL 60660 (800) 825-9189

Illinois Army and Air National Guard www.il.ngb.army.mil/ 1301 N. MacArthur Blvd. Springfield, IL 62702 (217) 761-3569