Sun City resident Kristi Warnecke, with the Military Support Foundation, hosted a deployment care packaging event Dec. 9.

The goal of the Military Support Foundation is to support deployed military, their families and veterans in Arizona. With the mission statement “Whatever it takes,” the Military Support Foundation is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization founded in 2017.

“We know that freedom isn’t free and the sacrifices that our men and women in uniform make for our freedoms are so often taken for granted or forgotten,” stated Warnecke. “We do whatever it takes to make our soldiers lives better in whatever way we can.”

The group sends up to 200 care packages to deployed military units in the Middle East each month, as well as host families and others.

“We adopt deployed units and not only send out care packages to active military,” Warnecke states, “we support our soldiers abroad and their families here with day-to-day food and necessary medicines (insulin), host family day picnics and holiday parties for up to 2,500 people, supply and provide hydration station during weekly drill exercises, lay wreaths on fallen soldiers graves with Wreaths Across America (we have had the honor of laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery).”

During the Dec. 9 gathering, those assembled packaged and sent off about 120 individual care package to the 422nd Expeditionary Signal Unit from Phoenix and a Marine group stationed in Syria and Iraq.

Warnecke, who has been with the foundation since its inception and is a current board member, notes the foundation relies solely on donations to cover expenses. As such, any and all tax deductible donations regardless of the amount are appreciated.

Visit militarysupport.net. Call 480-710-1212 or 623-512-7576.