Operation Gratitude Gives More than Thanks to First Responders and the Military

Image Courtesy of Mariam Baldwin

By Mariam Baldwin

The Pryz was buzzing with gratitude on Saturday, May 31. NFL players, cheerleaders, pageant queens, and the Washington Commanders mascot were among the volunteers in Great Room A, helping assemble 5,000 care packages for local first responders and military. Distribution of the packages will be evenly split between both groups.

The event started a little past 9 a.m.. There were four long tables set up across the Great Room, each one stacked with a row of thirteen boxes. Every person would gather in a line at the start of a table, grab a bag, and stock the bag with the number of designated items from each box. Every box contained a different item, including paracord lanyards, miniature games, snacks, and cards written with words of gratitude for those who serve their communities. Once they got to the end of the line, people’s bags would be stacked alongside each other in large boxes to be shipped away.

“It’s just a way for people to be able to say ‘thank you’ to those who are serving or have served in a very tangible way,” Vicki Johnson, Senior Director of Community Engagement at Operation Gratitude and Air Force veteran, said, “The volunteers make it all happen. They show up, they assemble the care packages, and then it’s just something really nice for our military or first responders to receive that gift of gratitude from people that they don’t even know.”

Todd Simmons, Chairman for the Community Cares DC event, explained the impact of this service event. “For me, as someone who served in the military for twenty-five years, who is now a card-certified veteran, someone who was a first responder for almost two decades, people tell you ‘thank you for your service,’ which is absolutely meaningful. But when people show up for you, it’s a completely different feeling.”

It’s true that many people showed up to serve the community in a meaningful way. They came from all over, including parts of the DMV like Vienna, Arlington, and Silver Spring. Many of them were part of larger youth and volunteer groups. The turnout was notable, prompting questions about the potential popularity of an event like this for Catholic University students in the school year.

Simmons believed it could spark meaningful conversations, because “the beauty of the student population, here and at other universities, is that they’re going to go back around the world – not just the United States. Think about international students coming here or people from around all walks of life in the United States going back to their homes in the summer and saying, ‘I attended this great event where veterans and first responders were being taken care of.’”

Johnson said that Operation Gratitude would love to come back. She admitted that the logistics of an event would depend on the availability of the space to be rented, but that “there’s tons of ways for students here to get involved with us outside of these events. I’d love for you guys to help write letters to go in care packages or do collection drives for us.” 

If anyone would like to find out ways to help, they should reach out to Johnson at vjohnson@operationgratitude.com. 

The event ended a little past noon. Volunteers were productive and completed all the care packages in just three hours. They left with a sense of accomplishment, although the mission doesn’t end here. There are more first responders and military who deserve the respect and appreciation of the people they serve. Operation Gratitude depends on the willingness of new and returning volunteers to not just state their gratitude, but to show it in actions.