OUR MISSION
To show the love, support and appreciation of a grateful nation, by providing necessities and comfort items to our military men and women and their families, all over the world, through the continued support and generosity of businesses, individuals and volunteers.
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Our Journey
Thank you to our heroes for being there to protect us. We know freedom is not free and through their sacrifices we live in freedom. You will see, through these pictures, it takes a village, Our wonderful Holiday 4 Heroes Team, volunteers, sponsors and the community have made all this happen. As we always say, "We could not do what we do without you!" Please enjoy our journey through this slide show. THANK YOU TO ALL! |
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Who are we
Holiday 4 Heroes was founded in 2007 by Jonette Kessack, who owned a postage and wine store. This grassroots effort was started to fill a need to provide comfort and care to out deployed men and women all over the world. We are a group of team members, volunteers and business owners who had a desire to show our military that we remember them and appreciate their sacrifices for us. What we do What started as a Holiday Program, our first year sending 40 packages, became a Year-Round effort. We now send 100 - 200 comfort packages each month to our brave men and women, and 1000 packages for our Holiday Mission. We have now sent almost a total of 20,000 packages. To fill the need at home we have added more programs, for our community, to serve our in-need and homeless Veterans and their families. |
Additions to the Mission
In 2019, we started our Backpack for Homeless and In-need Veterans Program partnering with the VA and various homeless coalitions. Our back packs are filled with personal care items, high protein snacks and information on where to get help. In 2020, we began distributing bulk food drops to our in-need veterans and their families through the VA Food Pantry. In 2021 our local VA Clinic asked us if we could help fill a need in our community. We were asked if we could provide tents and water filtration bottles for our Veterans who are losing their homes during the current housing crisis. In 2022 we realized that some of our Mission Make Merry Families, sometimes, need a little extra help for emergencies. When funds area available, we provide what we can to help our families get through these difficult times with a little less stress. Please read about some of the things we are doing fot our families. Read More. |
Mission Make Merry
As the mission evolves, Holiday 4 Heroes supports our military families at home by giving them a Christmas filled with joy and less worries.
Every year we provide a Merrier Christmas for local Military Families, who may be going through some difficult times. These families are recommended to us through the VA.
The first year we started with 3 families.
Fast forward to 2023, through the generosity of our donors, we have adopted 23 families. We provide all the necessary trimmings to make their Holiday Season a little bit brighter.
This year, through the tremendous generosity of our community, we also included gift certificates for food to help out with Thanksgiving Dinner too.
To watch a video of our Mission Make Merry program - click here!
Mission Make Merry Thank You
This is a thank you from one of our "Mission Make Merry Families"
This is why we do what we do.
"My family and I were the recipients of the H4H donations for 2022, on both Thanksgiving and Christmas. Due to my declining health and other situations that have arisen, we have been struggling exceptionally hard this year, we had no idea how we were going to pull off these holidays for our children, then your organization stepped in.
From the gift cards which ensured our family had more than enough on the table at all times, to the Christmas tree and the WONDERFUL gifts you provided, I can honestly say this has been the best holiday we have had in a very long time.
My toddlers, our teenager (my wife and I were extremely happy with all we received, that goes triple for the kids who all not only received exactly what they wished for, but LOVED every minute of playing with everything.
I cannot tell you how wonderful this has been. I want to thank your organization and everyone that took the time out of their busy lives to not only donate, but also organize this all. Thank you, God bless you all, I am forever in debt to you for your kindness and generosity. "
please Join us for some fun and friendship
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Did you know? It takes approximately ONE MONTH for a box to be received by a soldier. Once USPS picks up, it travels to McDill in Tampa. From there, boxes are shipped as space is available. This means September we start sending fall and Halloween cards in our boxes. Come October, we will send Thanksgiving cards and by November we will be including Christmas cards in our boxes! As if time didn’t already move fast enough… What can we buy? We are always being asked “what can we buy” or “what do you need”. EACH and EVERY donation is needed and APPRECIATED! MAGAZINES!!!! We are in need of magazines to send in our boxes. If you receive them, or know of any business that does, please consider asking them to donate to us when the new issue arrives. The last round of packing wiped us out!! This is a MONEY FREE donation that our troops would appreciate! Dollar Tree Items: ($1.25each) Razors Flavored drink mixes Granola / Energy / Protein Bars Body wipes Aldi Items: Tuna fish in individual packets (.85 cents each) Peanut Butter, crunchy or creamy ($1.79/jar) |
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Thank You!
These amazing people pictured here join us to pack comfort and care packages for our troops and Back Packs for our Homeless Veterans. We have packing parties on Thursdays and Saturdays. Contact Tricia Rice to join the fun triciah4@gmail.com. We are so fortunate to have a woman who hand makes cards for EVERY holiday for Holiday 4 Heroes. They are amazing!!! Hand written notes inside. Is anyone interested in reaching out to children / classrooms to see if they would like to generate more notes to our soldiers! If you are interested fill out the Contact Us Form and tell us what you would like to do. Thanks to all of you who have generously donated your time to make this effort such a success! |
PHOTOS FROM OUR PACKING PARTIES -
JOIN US FOR SOME FUN AND FRIENDSHIP! |
Lee County Clerks Office & Comptroller!
Thank you Lee County Clerks Office & Comptroller for volunteering to pack backpacks for our in-need homeless veterans. It is an honor for you to have taken your Saturday morning to come help us! We thank you. |
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We thank all of you for your loyalty and generosity for our "Holiday 4 Heroes" Program. Holiday 4 Heroes is a 501(C)(3) registered charity
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