June 21, 2011
Former East Brook Middle School students, Matthew Kaplan, Max Benat, Steven Zisa and Olivia Gorman received Lifetime Presidential Volunteer Service Awards on the flight deck of the USS New York on Memorial Day weekend. Commanding Officer Susanne McNinch, Navy Recruiting District New York, honored the students for their 4,000 personal community service hours to Operation Goody Bag and the United States Navy. Each of these outstanding young adults have dedicated the last 8 years to the OGB mission, remembering September 11th and honoring First Responders and the Troops. Each of the recipients has been the guest of the Navy to sail in Fleet Week cruises aboard WASP-class Amphibious Assault Ships. Students participating in this �Cruise of a Lifetime� board the naval ship at the Norfolk Naval Base sail three days to New York City harbor to participate in the annual Fleet Week parade of ships.
Click here to learn more about the Presidential Volunteer Service Awards.
Click here to learn more about USS Iwo Jima
June 21, 2011
After shipping 200,000 Goody Bags, Operation Goody Bag has received thousands of thank you letters from First Responders and the Troops. In compiling a stack of favorite letters for a book, Mrs. Cosco set 150 notes aside. In January, 2010, Cosco read an article in The Record newspaper about a local Marine who was killed in action on January 14th, Sgt. Chris Hrbek. Such an unusual spelling jarred Cosco’s memory and after ruffling through the stack of favorite thank you notes, she found one from Chris.
"It is kids like you who make us keep our heads up even in the worst conditions. For guys who don’t have anyone back home, it’s comforting to know someone’s thinking about them."
She shared the letter with the children. One student, Steve Zisa, said he recognized the name as well. But, he was not familiar with the stack of notes. Finally he realized that the name "HRBEK" was familiar because Chris was a bunkmate of Steven’s on the USS Iwo Jima during an Operation Goody Bag Fleet Week cruise. On our cruises we take hundreds of photos of Sailors and Marines, but what was the chance that we could find one with Chris when the ship carried over 2,000 Marines? Two months later, we organized a shipment of 5,000 Goody Bags to be sent in memory of Sgt. Hrbek. The day before the event, Mrs. Cosco asked the Vice Principal to look through his USS Iwo Jima photos. We scrolled through the slide show and we were shocked to see all of our OGB boys being hugged by Chris while he held a Goody Bag.! Chris’ mom and stepdad attended the event and were so moved to see the photo and experience the story.
June 21, 2011
This year Operation Goody Bag will hold the 10th Annual "Night of Remembrance & Hope" tribute to September 11th. This yearly event holds special meaning this year as it commemorates the 10th Anniversary of the tragedy of 9/11. Guests will see a 45 minute multi-media program followed by participation in assembly line packing event to prepare 5,000 Goody Bags to ship to the Troops.
Tickets for this event are limited and reservations will be necessary. Ticket price is $10. Interested in attending this event? Email OGB at showtickets@operationgoodybag.org to request seats.
Please make out checks to Operation Goody Bag for the amount of tickets you would like to order and mail to:
Mailing address:
Operation Goody Bag
P.O. Box 542
Montvale, NJ 07645
Ticket purchases are on a first come, first serve basis. We will be having an overflow location with a live video feed. If the auditorium is full and you will not accept overflow seating, please indicate this in your email request so we can send back your check if necessary.
May, 2011
Operation Goody Bag volunteers participated in three community service events at Viacom Headquarters located on Broadway in New York City. The first event was ViaCommunity Day, an annual day of service for Viacom employees. Over 3,000 volunteers contributed time and energy on a number of projects throughout the city, one of which was Operation Goody Bag. Employees colored Goody Bags, wrote letters to the Troops and by the end of the day packed 560 gifts. During the day-long event, volunteers were shown tributes to September 11th, Veterans and First Responders created by children in the days following the tragedy of 9/11.
MTV Networks invited Operation Goody Bag to take part in their annual Bring Your Daughters/Sons to Work event. Children shadowed their parents during the morning, enjoyed lunch in the Lodge and were entertained by Miranda Cosgrove of "iCarly". At the close the show, the children took part in fun, hands-on activities including coloring Goody Bags for the Troops. By the end of two hours, 275 Goody Bags were colored.
MTV Networks held their bimonthly Big Brother Big Sister event on May 10th. Students from a public school in lower Manhattan were treated to after-school snack buffet and the Operation Goody Bag project. Two hours passed by quickly as Mentors and their students colored bags, wrote thank you notes and enjoyed "Tributes to the Troops" created by OGB students. By the end of the party, 85 Goody Bags were ready to be shipped to the Troops.
