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20k boxes later: Congressman recognizes local marine vet for troop care package operation

Posted at 12:11 PM, Aug 21, 2018
and last updated 2018-08-21 15:11:33-04

Local marine veteran and founder of TroopCarePacks.org Si Tenenberg was recognized by Congressman Salud Carbajal Tuesday for their volunteer work and organization. 

Tenenberg was presented with an American Flag that was flown over the United States Capital for his massive contribution to some 400,000 troops serving the United States military. Tenenberg’s organization has been sending care packages to troops for 12 years, and since the start, 20,000 packages have been sent. 

A Sergeant in the United States Army told KSBY Tuesday that he received a few of these care packages during his tours in Afghanistan and that it was like Christmas when he would get one. 

For Tenenberg, he says while he appreciates the flag that was presented to him for his and his volunteer’s efforts, it’s not the highlight of what he does. 

"The highlight, believe it or not, is meeting people like Sgt. First Class who received our boxes that took the time out of his family to come and be with us to meet the Congressman and meet my volunteers, so they can talk to somebody who actually got our boxes," Tenenberg said. 

Myrna Wood, a volunteer, says the troops aren’t totally taken care of, which is why she’s doing what she can to give back to them. 

"We do it because we want to do it, we’re so happy to be able to help our troops, but it’s mainly because we receive these letters from them and it’s stuff they need," Wood said.

Congressman Carbajal, who serves on the Armed Services Committee, says he wants to better understand how the men and women who serve can be better equipped with what they need. 

"I think that we, as the United States, could do a little better in making sure some of these items that Si and his volunteers send to our troops are more readily available and available to our troops on a daily basis," Carbajal told KSBY. 

Tenenberg says he’s always looking for donations. If you’d like to donate to TroopCarePacks.org, click here.