To the Editor:

This past Saturday we had the pleasure of visiting the Isle of Wight County Fair.

During our visit, we met Sonja Hardison. She is the director of American Military Missions in Zuni.

This is a nonprofit organization run by volunteers. This grassroots organization started when Sonja’s grandson was deployed to Iraq in 2005. She sent him packages, and he told her that many of his fellow soldiers did not receive anything from home.

Since receiving her grandson’s message, she and her family began to mail packages monthly to Iraq, Afghanistan, Kosovo, Kuwait and wherever our American heroes are deployed. They believe this is the least we can do when our heroes sacrifice so much for our country.

They send snacks, toiletries, books, magazines, CDs and more. They send small toys for when our troops are involved in humanitarian projects — perhaps helping to get a school started or helping an orphanage.

They send a letter in every package telling them who donated.

I was really impressed by this family and its effort on behalf of our soldiers in faraway places.

You can help them in their effort by sending a tax-deductible check to American Military Missions, 20215 Clark Circle, Zuni, Va., 23898, or Farmers Bank, P.O. Box 285, Windsor, Va., 23487. Their telephone number is (757) 242-4196.

If you have items they could use in their boxes, give them a call; they will pick them up.

If you know of someone who has been deployed, they will be glad to add him or her to their list.

Every penny received goes to the troops. There are no “administrative costs.”

This is a great effort on the part of these caring residents of our county. They need and deserve our support. Our troops need to know Isle of Wight County cares for them.

Grace Keen
Smithfield