Volunteers Send Troops a Piece of Home

Saynde and Ron Kochman of Kenilworth will not be with their son, Air Force Lt. Andrew Kochman, for Christmas but they got to feel closer to him at the office of Monday. 

The Kochmans organized a group of volunteers at Dold’s behest who arrived at the Congressman’s Northbrook office Monday to package boxes of holiday gifts for American troops stationed in Afghanistan. 

Andrew Kochman, who is a navigator aboard C-130 Hercules transports there, will be on the receiving end to make sure the boxes get to the troops. 

“Absolutely,” Saynde Kochman said when asked if packing the presents made her feel closer to her son. “It makes me feel committed to being a part of what’s he is doing. He’s doing the hard part. This is small in comparison to what the boys and women are doing there.” 

Not only will the Kochmans not see their son for Christmas, he was away Thanksgiving as well.

More than a dozen people joined the Kochmans, Dold and his staff putting things like books, magazines, non perishable food, pens, batteries and other essentials in boxes for shipment to Andrew Kochman in Afghanistan.

“Sending packages to our troops is nothing novel,” Dold said. “All across the country people are doing this and we want to make sure we are a part of it.”

Some of the gifts were handmade scarves and tissue holders created by Shelley Hooke of Lake Forest and her mother, Carol Tarras of Highland Park. This craft is part of their business, Liten-up Technologies in Lake Forest. The scarves and tissue holders were donated.

Hooke brought the tissue holders to the office Monday assisted by her young sons, Andrew and Steven Hooke. The boys were part of the gift making. “I helped stick them (the tissue) in there,” Andrew said.

Shelley Hooke was glad to be part of the effort and be able to contribute something of herself and her mother.

“This is some niceness from home so they can remember what they’re working for,” Hooke said. “The troops are doing all this for us this is the least we can do."

Cindy Weickert of Glenview brought her teenage sons, Gregory and Jack Weickert, to be part of the event. For her it was part of her commitment to spending time with her children giving something back.

“I’m here with my two boys for community service and to show appreciation to our troops during the Christmas season,” Cindy Weickert said.