BERKELEY – Soldiers are trained to endure the harshest environments and deal with issues that we couldn’t even fathom. But that doesn’t mean they don’t need a little help from time to time.
Lloyd Mullikan has been shipping boxes of supplies to soldiers for more than two decades. He collects donations from businesses, individuals, and community groups. He has a list of soldiers – some of them are the children or grandchildren of people he knows. That person becomes the contact that he can send items to.
He has boxes lining rooms in his house, and more in the garage and sheds. Inside is everything a soldier could need. Toothpaste and toothbrushes are sent in the same box as candy, sending a bit of a before and after. Travel size items are key, because they can be taken on the go. Wet wipes are extremely welcome.
“This is top shelf stuff,” he said as he showed off handfuls of name brand products.
Jerky is popular, because it provides protein in quick snack form, since the soldiers are often on the go. He’s learned that tea is not welcome in hot climates because it makes you urinate more, when you really want to be keeping that water in your body. Soldiers put dryer sheets in their shoes to keep them fresh. There’s been a larger demand for feminine hygiene products.
He’s picked up t-shirts at Goodwill. “When you’re off duty, it gives you something to wear that’s not military,” he said. “It’s a small thing, but it helps.”
Some items are put in there just for morale. A bunch of beauty products can be used for a spa day. The soldiers are so isolated that CDs, DVDs, books and comic books come in handy. While the media of CDs and DVDs might be antiquated back home, the base might not have any way to stream digital entertainment. It “helps them take their minds off where they are.”
Puzzles and games do more than pass the time; they allow soldiers to focus on something else when they are off duty. He has even deflated some balls and sent them with a pump.
“A lot of these soldiers don’t keep normal hours, so when they get back to camp,” the kitchen might be closed. A can of tuna or soup goes a long way.
People donate chocolate, but that’s not going to the Middle East, where the temperatures are boiling in the summer. That can go to military stationed in Europe.
He got some kosher meals ready to eat and sent them to a rabbi. The rabbi was overjoyed and wrote back, mentioning how he had studied in Lakewood and it was nice to get a thoughtful package from someone from Ocean County.
Some donations are not appropriate or wouldn’t ship well. Those things end up at local food pantries or homes for veterans.
Some of the units he sends to “live in tents, sometimes under very primitive conditions. Because of the nature of their mission, they are also not always able to eat regular meals, or have ready access to the basic necessities of life.”
A lot of the military involves logistics – moving troops and equipment to support specific causes. Mullikan has his own logistical hurdles to overcome. Keeping track of individual soldiers and their needs is significant. These names are the loved ones of people stateside. They provide the contact information, which is not for public knowledge.
Some of the locations on a recent list include Djibouti, Qatar, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Poland, Estonia, Lithuania, Romania, and even a Navy ship currently at sea.
When people donate Christmas items in December he saves them until the following fall. Then, he’ll mail blank Christmas cards for them to fill out and send home. It takes a month to get there and a month to get back. He and his wife buy up decorations after the holiday and save them for most of a year.
He told a story about a base that had announced a Christmas decorating contest, and the next day, just by coincidence, one of his packages arrived, full of lights and ornaments.
Although the majority of the work is done by Lloyd, he’s quick to inform people that he’s just one of the many who are supporting veterans. He thanks his wife, Cecilia, for her support in this huge undertaking. Even his mother separates items for shipping.
He tucks letters into each box letting them know where it’s from. The letter also asks if they want anything in particular. Church & Dwight’s Lakewood location donates a lot of Arm & Hammer products. Hackensack Meridian takes up collections at their hospitals. Holiday City At Berkeley has a group of bakers ensuring that soldiers get home-made cookies. Another group knits things for them. Some are close by, such as Daughters of the American Revolution, Girl Scouts of the Jersey Shore or Berkeley and Central Regional schools. Some are a bit further, like Frito-Lay in Burlington.
Nancy Seibert and her “Cell Phones For Soldiers” program collects old cell phones and brings them to a recycler. In exchange, she gets phone cards that are sent along.
Unsurprisingly, a lot of the people who donate to him have been in the military themselves and know what it’s like, he said.
