CAPITOL – Representatives of Packages from Home, a nonprofit group of Arizona citizens that collects various goods to send to American soldiers stationed in front-line fighting areas, met with Sixth Legislative District Senator Dean Martin at the State Capitol before the sun had even come up on Presidents Day to rally support for their program and speakout in favor of a measure proposed by Martin.

The group continued the rally through the morning and joined a press conference at 10:30.

Margy Bons of Desert Hills lead the early morning rally that got local television coverage of the effort of Packages from Home to serve the basic needs of the men and women of the armed forces. A tireless worker for the charity, Bons had been part of the program before her son, Marine Sgt. Michael Marzano, was killed by enemy fire last Mother’s Day.

Joining the rally was another U.S. Marine, Staff Sgt. Brian Judkins of Beaumont, Texas. Judkins will ship out in March for his second tour of duty in Iraq.

Asked if he got packages from the group while stationed there before, he replied, “You bet.” In his soft Texas drawl, he explained that what he and his fellow Marines really liked was the beef jerky that came with the packages. “We were assigned to a dam in a remote area and had no PX where we could buy anything,” he said, “These packages really helped us.”

The program is entirely supported by donations from residents and businesses in Arizona. New River, Anthem, Tramonto, and Desert Hills residents have been big supporters of Packages from Home, contributing thousands of items and money to the organization.

The group looks for small items that can be easily packed in a box, such as disposable razors, non-aerosol shaving cream, toothbrushes, toothpaste, combs, books, magazines, non-perishable food items, CDs and DVDs, and, of course, beef jerky. Packages from Home also has to support the mailing costs of the more than 12,000 boxes shipped in the past year, which is running in the tens of thousands of dollars to date.

After inspection to be sure all donated items meet the Military’s stringent standards, the items are packed by staff and volunteers into U.S. Post Office Flat-Rate Priority Mail boxes. No alcohol, tobacco, pressurized, or x-rated materials are allowed to be sent. The boxes are sealed by a Packages From Home director and mailed to U.S. servicemen and servicewomen who are deployed overseas in harm’s way.

Peg Gildersleeve, a Scottsdale resident, has been looking for a business sponsor that would donate a case of beef jerky once a month to help fill boxes for the project.

Packages from Home, a 501(c)(3) non-profit charitable organization whose mission is to provide food, personal care and recreation items to our Troops in Iraq, Afghanistan, and around the rest of the world at no cost to the troops was started in November 2004.

The effort was founded right here in Arizona by a Glendale mother, Kathleen Lewis, who wanted to send supplies to her son deployed in Iraq. Today, it is one of the leading community help programs for the armed forces and is formally recognized by the Department of Defense.

The program began as a mother’s labor of love for her son, a soldier with the Army’s 1st Infantry Division. Kathleen Lewis’ son, Christian, was deployed to Iraq in March 2004. She began sending care packages to her son on a regular basis. She received a phone call from Christian, and was thanked for all of the comfort items from home, but she also found out her son was the only soldier in his squad receiving any packages from home. At this point Kathleen decided to adopt his squad; she began shipping packages to the men in his unit; “Packages from Home” was born.

The group is composed entirely of volunteers, like Bons. There are no paid staff members or even formal business offices. Everything is done by local supporters.

Besides her work for Packages from Home, Bons said she is building a new restaurant in Desert Hills, at the southeast corner of Carefree Highway and 7th Street. The new eatery will be open in about six months, she explained. “We’ll serve traditional American food,” noted Bons. She said she his calling the place Bons Appeti.