Putting appreciation into action

On Tuesday — a day devoted to America’s veterans — staff and volunteers at Redmond’s Cascade Vista Convalescent Center put their appreciation into action, assembling 24 “care” packages for service men and women currently far from home.

“When you say you support the troops, it has to be more than a bumper sticker,” explained company president Terry Caffey.

This past Memorial Day, he and a team of employees made 50 packages for military personnel abroad. The reaction was such a hit that they decided to do it again.

An assembly line of workers filled boxes with snacks that travel well, such as nuts, crackers and beef jerky, as well as health and hygiene products.

Chris Phillips from Cascade Vista’s accounting department bought all the items, divided them into categories and prepared five copies of a packing form for each box. She said the Ravensdale Post Office was a big help, providing boxes and labels.

Phillips knew from contact with an active solider — her daughter’s boyfriend — just how much these packages can lift the morale of a weary man or woman in uniform.

“Soldiers are out six weeks with a quart of water every day. They ration their rations because if they bring extras, they just get stolen. We’re helping soldiers everywhere, whether they’re in Germany, Korea, Iraq, Afghanistan or anywhere,” said Phillips.

Cascade Vista’s director of human resources, Judy Bailey, understands the hard life of a soldier firsthand. Bailey was a Vietnam refugee and “wanted to give back to the country that took her in,” said Caffey.

She joined the U.S. Army, was stationed at Fort Lewis and in Germany and deployed to Albania. Airborne-certified, Bailey did five jumps wearing heavy gear. She achieved the rank of first lieutenant and was with the 3rd Coscom unit.

Caffey noted that he’s a “big supporter of the USO and their motto, ‘Until everyone comes home.’ We intend to keep doing this. We need to do our part to show support.”

If you’d like to donate supplies for our troops, contact Caffey at (425) 885-4157 or terry.caffey@cascadevista.com.

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