Thousands of military personnel and their families will be helped this holiday season by a small center located in Shoemakersville.
Keystone Military Families sends care packages to deployed soldiers and provides practical support via food and other necessities to the families of active military personnel and veterans.
“Today, we are unpacking an unbelievable load of food from Adamstown,” Director Kyle Lord said on Nov. 25.
The 1,500-pounds of nonperishable food, plus laundry detergent and dish soap, was donated by the Patriotic Order Sons of America.
Lord spoke as she unpacked items and directed the work of a half-dozen volunteers who were assisting her that morning.
The group was also preparing for a special Thanksgiving meal event that afternoon. Mission BBQ of Wyomissing came to the site and provided 75 hot meals of pulled-pork sandwiches and sides for military families as well as center volunteers.
She noted that the Wyomissing eatery, part of an east-coast chain of restaurants, is dedicated to supporting active military personal and veterans and thus is a good partner for the Shoemakersville-based group.
“They are building a great community for our military,” Lord said.
Lord founded Keystone Military Families, originally called “Keystone Soldiers” in 2002. At that time, she focused on collecting items for care packages to be sent to soldiers overseas. She also offered limited assistance to deployed families. Services were expanded over the years until, in 2014, the name was changed to Keystone Military Families.
“It better expresses what we do. We don’t just care for the deployed. We don’t just care for veterans. We take care of their families,” Lord said.
Today, 13 years later, she notes many of those original families are still dealing with the hardships of having an active-service soldier.
“It gets harder and harder,” Lord said, when a family member is deployed multiple times.
The cost is emotional and economic and the struggles continue when the soldier returns home. Life does not just go “back to normal.”
This is where groups like Keystone Military Families step in. The 5,500-square-foot warehouse attached to the Shoemakersville center holds a food pantry, donated furniture and clothing and even diapers.
“They can come in and pick out what they need,” Lord explained. “We have almost no waste, since they pick what they need and what they like.”
All items and services are funded through 100-percent public donations; the center does not qualify for federal funds as they only work with a specific group (military families) and not the general public. All workers are also volunteers.
“A lot of our volunteers are or were at one time pantry families,” Lord said, and many stay on as volunteers once they get back on their feet and no longer require assistance.
Many of the people who come to Keystone Military Families are referred by veterans centers and all services are provided anonymously. The recipients are just asked to show military ID or something similar.
Keystone moved to its current location, 16 East Noble Ave., about one year ago. They receive many donations and collections from local schools, including nearby Perry Elementary Center, and also hand-made items from groups as far away as Hawaii. In addition, Lord has about 20 core volunteers who regularly help the 40 to 60 families who use the food pantry monthly.
Once the Mission BBQ meal was served on Wednesday, Lord and her volunteers got back to work.
They are currently packing 7,500 Christmas stockings to send to soldiers in military zones. For over a month, volunteers have been stuffing these stockings with basic toiletries, candy and – in many cases – handwritten notes and cards. Postage runs about $4.80 to send each stocking to a soldier, and Keystone welcomes individuals to sponsor a stocking or two.
Next on Keystone’s horizon is another batch of care packages, this time for Valentine’s Day. Church, school and community groups are welcome to pitch in. The center is open Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Volunteers arrive as early as 9 a.m. on those days to help stock shelves before families arrive.
For details, contact Keystone Military Families at 610-698-2122 or find on facebook.com/KeystoneMilitaryFamilies.
