Saturday,August 25, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Island Market

Orcas Island boasts a “secret Santa” who puts together and ships Care Packages for active duty service personnel during the holiday season.

Throughout the year, Judy Wallace purchases and collect:

  • personal hygiene items from chapstick to bug repellant
  • beef jerky
  • granola & breakfast bars
  • hard candy
  • nuts
  • gum
  • instant coffee, cocoa mixes, and flavoring packets
  • pens, paper, envelopes
  • AA batteries
  • phone cards
  • small hand held video games
  • small toys or stuffed toys or school supplies to give to area children or teachers

and “Anything you would have liked to receive when overseas.”

Judy has been undertaking this project for years. This year her goal is to ship the care packages to 75 active duty service personnel during the Christmas season.

Next Saturday, August 25, she’ll hold a bake sale from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Island Market to raise funds to send the care packages overseas.

She also hopes to learn of the names and addresses of active duty personnel and are willing to share packages with their units.

There are drop off boxes at Island Hardware and the Community, Episcopal, and Catholic churches and at the bake sale for donated items for the care packages.