- Rhonda Luttrull - 417.767.4643 -
- Click here and listen to Andy's interview with Rhonda from October 6th - - Click here to listen to Andy's interview with Rhonda from August 6th - Since her son, PFC Dustin Hudson was deployed to Afghanistan with B-company of the 506th out of Fort Campbell, Kentucky...Rhonda Luttrull has channeled her anxiety into helping Dustin and his fellow soldiers know, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that they are remembered and loved here at home. Whether it's spending time writing several letters or emails a day, or packing her "Shoeboxes for Soldiers," she brought a smile to faces of so many soldiers serving with PFC Hudson's company in Afghanistan. Here's Rhonda, in her own words, 12 July 2008: "My son Dustin graduated from Fordland High School in 2004. He did well in school. He was crowned 'Homecoming King' his Junior year, and the student body president his Senior year. Dustin played some sports - baseball and basketball - and worked in-between it all. But his true passion had always been the Army.He graduated from Fort Benning, Georgia in Julyof 2007. He is stationed at Fort Campbel, Kentucky and has been forward deployed to Afghanistan. As I write this, Dustin has been over there for 3-months, 8-days and 14-hours.
The morning after he left, I felt restless and helpless. I decided to put my nervous energy to work for our soldiers and started calling family members for help sending packages to Dustin. Abut three weeks into it, during one of our phone conversations, Dustin said some of the men in his unit hadn't even heard from home yet. THAT is when I asked my church family to adopta soldier...agreeing to pray, send cards and letters and packages when possible. The Victory Life Church of Rogersville proudly accepted and has been a great support for me and soldiers stationed in bothIraq and Afghanistan. At this time, we have 20-soldiers adopted-out...each has received 2 packages, one filled with toiletries and the other snacks. My goal is to expand and keep this as an ongoing project...after all, the need will always be there until they ALL come home.
TO SUPPORT "SHOEBOX FOR SOLDIERS" - Fill a shoebox with the following supplies: 1) Clothing - Flip-flops, Army-green socks, Hats, Gloves and Blankets 2) Healthcare - Tylenol, Tums, Allergy/cold medicine, Gold Bond foot powder, Lotriman Ultra, baby wipes, sun block, Chapstick, deodorant, razors, eye-drops, Ben Gay, Icy Hot, Q-tips 3) Snacks – items like beef jerky, dried-fruit, nuts, mixed nuts, granola bars, fruit roll-ups, Ramen noodles, Mac and cheese, tuna in a pouch, gum, mints, powdered drink mixes, nonperishable food items, popcorn kernels (No glass, please!) 4) Morale - AA and AAA batteries, board games, puzzle books, word search, sudoku, CD's, DVD's disposable cameras, pens and pencils 5) A “thank you card” for their service ADDITIONAL REQUESTS FROM SOLDIERS INCLUDE: - Fishing gear, tackle, freshwater bait, hooks and pliers - New or used electronics...like Nintendo, Wii, Playstation consoles and games - Musical instruments...smaller items like harmonicas ** Please consider contributing money for postage ** Call "Shoebox for Soldiers" coordinator Rhonda Lutrull for more information, and to let her know of your support: 417.767.4643
KTTS Operation Hero "Shoebox for Soldiers Christmas Rush 2008!"
Thanks to your efforts in October of 2008, we collected over a thousand shoeboxes and filled 325 Priority Mail "APO" boxes, stuffed with supplies, to Afghanistan, Iraq and Kosovo! A very special THANK YOU to Family Pharmacy, for providing the drop-off locations, transportation of the shoeboxes, warehouse space and priceless manpower. Thanks as well to Romano's Macaroni Grill for providing a location and FABULOUS meal for our Shoebox volunteers on "Collection Day," October 24th - and for taking cash-donations for postage through the weekend... We still need cash donations to send our remaining packages! Asbury United Methodist Church - "Adopt a Box" Campaign After sending nearly 200 Priority Mail boxes to our local heroes in Afghanistan, Iraq and Kosovo...thanks to your generous efforts with the 2008 Christmas Rush, there are still 200 Priority boxes left to ship. Each box costs $10.95 in postage, meaning we still need $2200 to send all of these gifts before Christmas. Asbury United Methodist Church in Springfield has started an "Adopt a Box" campaign, encouraging everyone to donate money to complete the send. If just 200 people donate $10, the postage will be covered! To make your donation, stop by Asbury United Methodist at 1500 South Campbell between 9:00a and 3:00p Monday through Friday, or call: 417.865.1335.
QUESTIONS - call Rhonda Luttrull 417.767.4643 Here are some photos featuring our wonderful volunteers with the Christmas Rush 2008: Shoebox for Soldiers Coordinator Rhonda Luttrell Ozark Cub Scout Jason Carrico - who mobilized Pack 1890 to help! The Cub Scouts with Andy and Lynn Morris from Family Pharmacy Look at all of those Priority Mail boxes packed with your supplies! Springfield Postmaster Bill Brayman stopped to help, while Andy taped... Your generosity was AMAZING! How are we going to pay for all of this postage?! Keep packing those boxes with more shoeboxes and supplies, Colleen!