Local soldiers serving in Afghanistan recently received reminders of home in the form of 33 large boxes.
Employees of Bristol County Savings Bank sent the boxes after organizing a month-long drive to collect items for members of R.I. National Guard’s Company C, 1st battalion, 143rd infantry regiment.
Many of those serving in this division are from nearby towns and cities, including Providence, Fall River and Rehoboth.
After placing donation bags at Bristol County Savings Bank’s headquarters and its 11 branches, employees collected 321 pounds of food items and 260 pounds of hygiene products. The donations were then boxed up and shipped to Afghanistan, where they were distributed to soldiers.
“I can’t say enough about how generous our employees were to this most-worthy cause,” said Elizabeth M. Yebba, the bank’s vice president/information systems and technology.
Yebba, who coordinated the drive, has a close family friend in the regiment.
“The troops loved everything and I heard that it was a true morale booster to get snacks from home,” she said. “The food didn’t last long, I’ll tell you that!” •
