Spending time with the people you love is one of the greatest parts of the holiday season. But for military families whose loved ones are deployed, being apart can make the holidays difficult. In 2003, then Lieutenant Governor M. Jodi Rell created Operation E.L.F (Embracing Lonely Families), which accepts donations during the holiday season for military families.
According to the National Guard Foundation, 500 deployed troops from Connecticut have left behind 650 family members, 248 of which are children.
"A lot of our troops are deployed and their families are home wondering how to make ends meet," Rell said. While she recognizes that times are hard with the current state of the economy, Rell also believes that it is our responsibility to help military families while their loved ones are away.
Operation E.L.F asks the public to donate unwrapped toys, gift cards, phone cards, oil or Christmas trees to the Connecticut National Guard Foundation, according to John Whitford, State Public Affairs Officer of the National Guard. Additionally, services such as snow removal can be donated to those who cannot afford gifts.
Donations will be accepted until Wednesday, Dec. 17, at armories across the state. The donations will then be collected by the National Guard and sorted for the families.
According to Whitford, Connecticut's family program is one of the most recognized in the country. Because of this, the National Guard will be able to distribute appropriate gifts based on the demographics of each family.
The presents will be given to families at the Operation E.L.F. holiday party which will take place on Dec. 20 at the Hartford Armory.
"It's a culminating event that allows everyone to unwrap their presents together," Whitford said.
For the families that cannot make it to the party, the presents will be delivered in trucks as a part of Operation Santa Express.
In addition to donating presents, businesses and individuals can adopt squads or platoons and collect items to send overseas. Another option is to adopt a family. In this situation, the adopter is given the age and sex of the children, but not the actual names. This allows companies to donate appropriate gifts without revealing the identity of the family.
In the past six years, there have been enough donations to give to all of the families, in all branches of the military.
"The outpouring of support by residents has been phenomenal," Whitford said.
Donations can be delivered to a drop off site at armories in Hartford, Waterbury, Windsor Locks, New London, Stratford, Manchester and Norwich or sent to the National Guard's Office of Family Programs in Hartford.
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