SEMIONLE, Fla — Troops overseas are getting some support from Pinellas County nonprofits.

Operation: Military Matters hosted volunteers from the Florida Veterans Coalition and Grow Financial Federal Credit Union to build care packages for active-duty military members.

What You Need To Know

The Operation: Military Matters nonprofit is sending about 100 care packages to troops overseas

The packages have snacks, toiletries, and games to help boost troop morale

Florida Veterans Coalition helped packed the boxes on Saturday

Since 2015, Operation: Military Matters has sent around 14,000 care packages to troops around the world

Robby Groover, president and CEO of the Florida Veterans Coalition, volunteered on Saturday. He spent nine years in the U.S. Army infantry and was deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, and he said he knows what it’s like to be on the receiving end.

“I can remember opening these care packages and just almost smelling that little peacefulness of being back home,” Groover said.

This wouldn’t be possible without the nonprofits like Operation: Military Matters. The organization collects donations and addresses to send care packages to troops around the world. There are about 25 postal codes they can’t send items to right now, including Iran.

“We do have other places that are near there that they will take the care packages, and then they will drop them off in different locations that we can’t,” said Operation: Military Matters President Kadie Tubbs.

Based in Seminole, Operation: Military Matters was created in 2015 by Kadie Tubbs’ daughter Graci. She started the nonprofit at 9 years old after hearing from veterans at a school assembly. More than a decade later the nonprofit has sent more than 14,000 care packages.

“Our military, they do so much for us and we’re able to be here and be free, if we can just do a little something for them that means something to them, we’re happy to do it,” Tubbs said.

On Saturday at least 100 boxes were packed and are now ready for delivery. Tubbs said between goods and shipping, it will cost around $5,000, so they are always looking for donations.

“We’ve had the hurricanes in Florida. We had COVID before that. So, a lot of our donations that we normally would get go to other organizations, which I’m fine with that, they need to go to those other organizations, but we’re kind of struggling a little bit financially,” she said.

It was the first time the Florida Veterans Coalition partnered with Operation: Military Matters, but it won’t be the last. Groover said they are hoping to make this a quarterly event.

“It shows just what our community can do when we pull together resources and just support our fellow man and woman in these most extreme circumstances,” Groover said.

For more information about the organization, visit the Operation: Military Matters website.