Operation Shoebox in the Villages, Florida
Operation Shoebox is a 501 (C) 3 Nonprofit whose mission is to provide support to our troops deployed outside of the United States. Our care packages are filled with requested items from our troops to help them get through their deployment but more importantly to let them know they are thought of and cared about. This could come in the form of coffee, socks, hygiene items and letters of encouragement. We appreciate our men and women who serve our country and are committed to serving those that serve us.
OSBTV must absorb and pay all shipping costs and this can be as much as $10,000+ per month. To that end, OSBTV uses the following fund-raisers:
- Bingo the first Monday of each month
- Chinese Auctions
- Various dances with live bands
- Etc
Note: This is not the main website for Operation Shoebox. This site features the part where volunteers create and pack the packages that are sent to the deployed troops. The main site can be found at https://operationshoebox.com
Who we are
Phone Number: (352) 307-6723
Operation Shoebox embraces a practical mission of providing hands-on support for our troops deployed overseas and returning home. It is the mission of Operation Shoebox to meet the needs of every hero with dignity and appreciation. Whether it looks like packing coffee, socks, toothpaste and sports gear into care packages or sending letters of encouragement, whether it looks like organizing fundraisers or collecting supplies for homeless veterans, Operation Shoebox is committed to treating every hero with care and honor.
The Operation Shoebox office is located at: 8360 E Hwy 25, Belleview, FL 34420
How we got here
Operation Shoebox was founded in 2003 by military mom Mary Harper. While five of her children, and two son’s in law, were deployed around the world, the central Florida mom learned from her kids that troops didn’t receive many care packages or mail. She rolled up her sleeves and started an informal care package project out of her living room. While troops receive the very basic necessities like meals and shelter from the U.S. military, Harper realized the need to boost morale with practical tokens of kindness in the form of snacks, personal care items, entertainment and thank-you notes to men and women stationed around the world. Her homegrown project grew into a full-fledged nonprofit organization so quickly that after just a few years of operation, Harper was honored at the White House for her work on behalf of the men and women of the armed forces. Whatever global events shape foreign policy, Mary continues her mission at the Operation Shoebox headquarters in Florida, where the organization ships between 800-1,000 care packages a week. In 2012, 114 tons of supplies were sent to hardworking members of the U.S. military around the world.
How we deploy our resources
Operation Shoebox is an independent 501 (c) 3 non profit organization founded in 2003. It is not associated with any of the following:
Operation Shoebox New Jersey
Dino’s Operation Shoebox
Operation Shoebox UK
Operation Shoebox V
Operation Christmas Child
When you give a tax-deductible donation to Operation Shoebox, you can take pride in knowing that 100% of your gift goes directly to shipping costs and care package supplies. Shipping costs for an average month total between $11,000 and $17,000 in postage.
Honor the sacrifices that members of our armed forces make every day by contributing to our mission today.
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Furniture Store
5940 SE Hames Road
Belleview, FL 34420
Tuesday – Friday
10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Saturday
10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Saturday
10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Thrift Store
8360 East Highway 25
Belleview, FL 34420
Tuesday – Friday
10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Saturday
10:00 AM – 2:00 PM
This space is reserved for a future list of items that are approved for packing under Customs regulations.
With the new Customs rules and regulations, EVERY box is supposed to have the exact same content, the exact same weight. Officials might choose to X-ray the boxes, and their contents. All have to look the same. It sounds insane, and it hasn’t been easy. It may be January before we have time to plot it all out.
Our work is one part of the four teams making the paper pack in each bag for each veteran.
- The team grew from an irregular group of whoever showed up to a dedicated regular group of about twelve members weekly over the course of two plus years. It has evolved into a club-like atmosphere, characterized by conversations, the development of friendships, social gatherings outside OSB, and support for health issues or other needs.
- The group includes retired veterans, spouses of vets, children of vets, spouses of first responders, parents/siblings of AD service folks.
- Our job takes the sorted two pages from the Daily Sun newspaper (Monday to Saturday issues) and folds them together in a specific trifold design. The pages used are the comics and the crossword puzzles.
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