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Community Corner

RVC Families Support Troops Through Jacob's Light Foundation

Volunteers help send care packages and letters to troops overseas for the holidays.

As the holiday season approaches, Rockville Centre residents are sharing the comforts of home with U.S. troops stationed overseas with the help of the Jacob's Light Foundation. Jacob's Light — a non-profit organization started by a mother whose son was killed in Iraq —  gathers volunteers to assemble care packages filled with toiletries, snacks, reading materials and uplifting letters from the public, which are then shipped to military bases overseas.

"There are unsung heroes that help every month from this town," said RVC resident Liz Boylan, who has been involved with Jacob's Light since 2006 when it requested letters for troops from her children's schools. Boylan's daughter and son have since collected nearly 4,000 letters from students at Kellenberg Memorial High School and

"This effort makes my kids appreciate what the troops are doing for us overseas and they have come to learn that many of their friends have fathers, brothers, uncles or cousins serving," Boylan said. "One of the teachers at Kellenberg told [my daughter] that he thought this was such a good idea since he has buddies over in Iraq now."

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Dorine Kenney, founder of Jacob's Light, began the organization after her son Jacob was killed by an Improvised Explosive Device in Iraq in 2003.  "I started sending boxes to the troops eleven days after my son died," Kenney said. "I had no idea this would grow to become a corporation and a non profit."

To date, Kenney and her team of volunteers have sent 394,000 pounds of supplies to U.S. troops overseas. This Thanksgiving will mark the seventh anniversary of Jacob's Light, and the organization already has hundreds of volunteers preparing for the holiday rush.

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"Our holiday boxes are sent out at the end of November so that they arrive in time for Christmas," explained Kenney, who said that these packages are filled with "Christmas comforts" such as salami, mustard, butter cookies and blocks of Velveeta cheese.

Alyse Spinner, secretary and treasurer of Jacob's Light, has worked with the foundation since 2004, and said that the most rewarding part of the job is getting feedback from the troops themselves.  

"It is so exciting when the troops come to visit when they return home and share with us how much they appreciate our efforts," she said.

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