LACKAWANNA COUNTY, Pa. — It was a packed house in Clarks Summit, and all of these women have something in common: they have a son or daughter serving our country, making them Blue Star Mothers.
"They could be active duty or a veteran, but as long as your child is in any of the branches of the military, you are a Blue Star mom, and you may not even know it," said Kerry O'Grady, Blue Star Mothers of NEPA.
The women are part of the group Blue Star Mothers of NEPA, and they spent their Saturday morning putting together care packages for our troops.
"Our kids are away either in other countries or in the domestic United States, but they are still away, it's hard. This is our way of sending them a little love from home," said Colleen Ell, Blue Star Mothers of NEPA President.
"As we're doing it, some of the moms will put in a card, I'm going to get misty-eyed. They put in a card for their child to say we are thinking of them, and we also put in a picture of ourselves telling them how we appreciate their service," said Lori Bishop, Blue Star Mothers of NEPA.
That love from home is something the moms make sure every active duty member feels around the holiday season, even if they are hundreds or thousands of miles away.
"It makes you think that they are going to smile when they see it, and we really try to incorporate things they are going to need and use, not just frivolous stuff," said Colleen.
The group has put together care packages for several years, and one highly requested item this year was maple syrup.
"That was the big thing this year, a few of them wanted maple syrup from around here, and I guess they don't have that in Japan or some of the other countries they don't have that taste of home, said Lori.
The moms say each day is hard having their kids away, and the holiday season can be extra difficult, "It's not easy sometimes, especially when your family is gathered, and they are not at the table, but we have each other," said Kerry.
150 care packages were put together on Saturday. To learn more about the Blue Star Mothers of NEPA, click here.