Published on: Wednesday, November 10, 2010

By Jessica Talson

Troops serving overseas will have a small reminder of home this holiday season thanks to the efforts of Nicole Hardman and her fellow Prince George’s County firefighters and medics.

Hardman started a countywide effort to collect items that will be shipped to military personnel.

The initiative, Helping Hearts for Troops, aims to bring the comforts of home overseas. Sometimes items, such as packaged foods or a certain brand of shampoo, can help alleviate homesickness and brighten the holidays for the armed forces.

A small group of Prince George’s County firefighters have worked to create donation stations at all Prince George’s County fire stations. Hardman, a firefighter for the past nine years, is asking the public to donate gifts and toiletries that will be made into care packages and distributed to troops stationed in the Middle East.     

Items collected for care packages include non-perishable food, toiletries, board games, current DVDs and small homemade gifts.   

Hardman was inspired to start Helping Hearts for Troops after hearing stories from a friend who was stationed overseas about how much the troops appreciated care packages.

“My heart goes out to the men and women serving,” she said. “I wanted to give them a little bit of home for the holidays, and I thought care packages would be the best way to do that.” 

Hardman is no stranger to organizing charitable events. Her fiancee’s son was born with medical problems and has been in and out of children’s hospitals for the past 10 years. After watching her fiancee and his son deal with all the complications and struggles that come from dealing with hospitals and medical bills, she organized a softball tournament to raise money for children with medical problems. The softball tournament was a success and has been an annual tradition for four years.  

Hardman has also arranged a field trip for her daughters fifth grade class to go to BWI airport and welcome home troops who are returning from deployments overseas. The class will be part of Operation Welcome Home, an organization that greets returning service members.  

Hardman knows that sometimes it is the small things, such as a welcome home sign or a care package, that can make a difference.   

The logistics of mailing a large number of packages to troops stationed overseas can be difficult. Packages sent to service members through the USPS can get lost or delayed. To try and ensure that the packages reach the correct destinations quickly, Hardman has teamed up with the United Service Organization of Fort Meade. Queen Waddell, the USO coordinator at Fort Meade, will help make sure the packages are sent out correctly.

“Helping Hearts for Troops’ goal is to provide a bit of a respite and respect for our service men and women by sending some of the missing comforts of home wrapped in a personalized care package in the field or a deployment care package while they are on their way,” Waddell said. “It’s a small act that shows our appreciation and support for those making such a huge sacrifice every day.”

Although the USO will help prepare the packages, they cannot cover the full cost of shipping all the packages.

Hardman is currently talking with nonprofit groups and private organizations that may be able to help pay for postage. Hardman is also looking for private businesses that would like a donation box for their store.

Donation boxes are available now through Dec. 17 at all county fire stations. A full list of suggested items can be found attached to the box. For more information, please contact Nicole Hardman at 240-417-5168 or nsolo2329@comcast.net.