Socks, baby wipes, and hard candy are all simple, fundamental gifts that are making a difference in the lives of the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

A group of mothers of West Point graduates organized “Operation Support our Troops” (OSOT) in 2002 The mission of these dedicated mothers is to support the deployed service members in a positive manner, to send goods and letters to boost their morale, and to supplement their basic needs with a touch, taste, and smell from home.

One of these West Point mothers is Emily Curtis from St Peter’s Lutheran Church in Edon Ohio. She has sent over 20,000 pounds of items with a retail value of $375,000 overseas, including over 30,000 pairs of socks and 75 small Christmas trees. Her basement and garage are full of boxes of candy, lotions, foot powder, beef jerky, bug spray and gum.

Emily’s passion for the OSOT project has spread to all ages. Elementary students write letters and send video tapes of their choir concerts to the troops. Family and friends spend evenings loading the 25-30 pound boxes for shipment to Iraq and Afghanistan.

Emily states, “The men and women need this morale boost to show they haven’t been forgotten and that the work they are doing is appreciated. Many of their bases are in the middle of nowhere, so obviously, they have no electricity, no running water and they don’t have a store or a PX to go to for the necessities. This project brings a touch of home to them.”