Volunteers help load up the 8th Operation: Touch of Home Holiday Essentials shipment of donated items to be sent to local military men and women stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan in time for Christmas. "Our community supplied 11,641 pounds of essentials and our hard working volunteers sorted, packed and delivered to the post office all 384 boxes within 48 hours. Truly an amazing task. This could not have been done without the dedication and commitment of those who place the cause of recognizing our military over themselves. Within 7- 10 days, 66 servicemen and women, far away from their friends and family, will be receiving five or six large boxes filled with items that will brighten their day. I would like to express a heartfelt thank you to all that made this mission possible and a huge success," says Dean Green, founder of Operation: Touch of Home.