Residents, Local Business Show Appreciation for Troops Overseas

The snowstorm northern New Jersey received over the weekend was nothing compared to what American troops have to endure each day they are serving overseas.

So when dozens of volunteers spent their snow-filled Saturday in the Brighton Cromwell warehouse in Randolph filling care packages for troops, the worry of the weather was long gone.

The company held its fifth annual Operation Appreciation where employees and their families volunteered time to fill 700 care boxes to be shipped to soldiers overseas.

This year’s effort was coordinated by Brighton Cromwell employee and Chester Township resident Jackie Wachsmuth. One of the company’s owners, Glenn Van Etten, is a Chester Township resident, and his brother, Rob Van Etten, is a Chester Borough resident.

Wachsmuth also said a Patch reader from Long Valley who works for a lip balm company was able to donate 700 containers of lip balm. 

The care packages included items like phone cards, canned food, hand warmers and toiletries, to name a few.

Congressman Rodney Frelinghuysen (R, D-11) was also on hand to pack and ship the boxes as well as the mayor of Randolph. 

United Way was also part of the project, helping collect the items prior to their packaging on Saturday. 

The care packages have already been picked up and are on their way to Kabul, Afghanistan. From there they will be transported to the Bahram Air Base, Wachsmuth said.