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| LIFE IN SOLERA | SEPTEMBER 2022 | 23 With the support of the Solera community, our care package project is going into our 17th year. We have mailed over 4,800 care packages and many more emails, letters, and cards. It could not have been done without you. The contents of most packages will be shared by a number of service men and women. It is impossible to calculate how many of our military you have touched. On behalf of those who are serving our country, I wish to thank you, from the bottom of my heart. When we first started, I would decorate the cardboard box used to collect items. Later, I drew up plans for a nicer box. Chuck Barnett, a craftsman who lived in our community, made the box. Joann Fouser, who was teaching the Tole Painting class, did the painting. If anyone recalls those old cardboard boxes, they will agree that the newer version is an improvement. When I decided to do the care package project in a rather large way, I knew that I would need some sturdy boxes to put our donated items in. The manager of our local UPS store gave me a good buy on their UPS shipping boxes. They form the backbone of our five large rows of boxes that have been turned into bins for easy access of items. When we are doing our custom packing of a care package for a group of soldiers, we know right where to go for the exact items needed. Raising of funds for shipping cost has always been an issue. Longtime residents of our community may remember the chili cook offs and taste of Solera dinners, to name a couple. In recent years, Marty and Diana Mangan, along with the best singers from the Karaoke Group, have been helping out greatly with their fundraisers. They have an event planned for Nov. 13 so mark your calendar. Also to help with funds, we held a troop garage sale at the same time that Solera was holding their spring community-wide garage sale. We hope to repeat this when Solera has its Oct. 1 garage sales. Please keep in mind, you can donate any unsold items on that date. One-hundred percent of the money raised will go for postage. Thank you for caring. ~ Jesse Donardt SUPPORT OUR TROOPS VETERAN ASSISTANCE Billy (Mitch) Mitchell is a resident and Veteran who has voluntarily worked with individuals and the Veterans Administration to assist Veterans in obtaining benefits. If you are a Veteran and want to know which benefits you may be eligible for, contact Mitch at (951) 797-0800. There were no occasions for raising the Flags in August. The Flags will be raised on Mon., Sept. 5 for Labor Day. Thank you to those few dedicated resident volunteers who are up at the crack of dawn on these special days to put up and take down our flags. The contact for the Flag Brigade is Nick Gercis, nick.gercis@gmail.com. The Flag Brigade is currently looking for a few volunteers who would be interested in helping to raise and lower the flags. For more information, contact Nick Gercis at the email address above. Jesse Donardt is a resident of Solera and someone who cares for our troops overseas. Jesse collects things that our troops need and enhances the morale and well-being of these troops worldwide by shipping care boxes containing items specifically requested by them. Please support Jesse and the SUPPORT OUR TROOPS program. Jesse can be reached at 951-845-9028. To all Veterans, THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE! FLAG BRIGADE