Glass America and Church Brothers Collision Repair Team Up to Send Care Packages to Troops in Afghanistan
December 29, 2009

Glass America and Church Brothers Collision Repair LLC have teamed up with local insurance agents in Indianapolis to send care packages to troops in Afghanistan.

"When Paige McCarty, who works at Ted Phelps' American Family insurance agency, told us about her son serving with the Marines in Afghanistan, she may not have known what she was in for," says Julie Lange, account manager for Glass America in Indianapolis.

Lange, along with Jill Cunnington, a sales representative for Church Brothers, decided to organize a donation drive with local insurance agents in the Indianapolis area. Lange and Cunnington spearheaded the project to collect and pack care packages in honor of McCarty's son, Christopher, and his fellow Marines.

"Paige told Jill and I about how it feels to have a son in Afghanistan," says Lange. "She is so proud that Christopher is serving our country, but also fears what he is going through and witnessing as a marine in a war zone. This got us thinking. Neither Jill nor I have had someone really close to us serve in the military, so we didn't really know what the families go through until we watched Paige. We can all try to imagine, but when she was told us about the small things that we all take for granted, that the troops have to go without… well this is what got us thinking that maybe there is something that we can do."

The care packages contained daily essentials such as tissues, toilet paper, Chap Stick, gum, mints, deodorant and soap. Lange and Cunnington began collecting the items back in October, dressing up as USO girls on Halloween and visiting local insurance agents for their regular sales calls. They distributed a list of needed items, and told clients that they would return the week of November 30 to start picking up the items to prepare for packaging. Thirty-five agencies participated in the event, which resulted in 30 boxes of care packages that were shipped to Afghanistan.

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