PRINCETON — When Roger Williams went to war, it didn’t feel like there was a community back home wishing him well.
PRINCETON — When Roger Williams went to war, it didn’t feel like there was a community back home wishing him well.
There were no parades or shopping sprees for veterans who survived combat in the Vietnam War, so Williams knew the significance of a special shopping trip Tuesday at Rose’s in Princeton.
He was just one of a team of shoppers that included veterans, representatives of Willis Chiropractic, Rose’s employees and Omar Aboulhosn, who joined forces with Princeton Church of God to pick up supplies for local military men and women deployed overseas.
“We didn’t get any reception when we came back, so we know how important it is to get them a reception ...” Williams said. “It’s nice to open up something from home and know somebody cares, that the hometown’s behind them.”
The effort began with a simple comment a client made to chiropractor Dr. Randy Maxwell last summer. The mom, who missed her son very much, was worried that basic supplies weren’t as available to American soldiers as they had been in previous deployments.
From there, Maxwell decided to make a difference. In exchange for $25 worth of everyday essentials — such as eyedrops, hand sanitizer, nonperishable snacks, socks and more — he offered a free initial chiropractic analysis, including X-rays. Existing patients, who didn’t need the initial work-up, could also make a donation and receive one free day of therapy.
Maxwell then contacted the chaplain for the National Guard’s 1/150th, the unit headquartered at Brushfork, who pledged to get the donations to local soldiers stationed in Iraq’s desert.
The initial drive turned out to be a big success, completely taking over much of the waiting area of Maxwell’s North Walker Street office.
The effort didn’t stop there, though. During a casual conversation, Aboulhosn began thinking that there were many families in his church, the Princeton Church of God, affected by military service in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere. He and Maxwell teamed up.
Maxwell sent out yet another call for contributions, while Aboulhosn agreed to organize the supplies and find a way to get them overseas and into the hands of the military men and women loved by people here.
Aboulhosn said the driving force behind his work with the supply campaign was the constant knowledge that Americans have the freedom to go to church, school, work and anywhere else we choose because of the men and women willing to stand up for those rights.
“The reason we have that freedom is because the veterans of the past have purchased that privilege,” he said.
The veterans of today are preserving it, he said.
Counting the supply contributions that came in during the second wave of donations and the $1,512.99 in cash that was donated, Aboulhosn estimated the volunteers should be able to send 200 boxes to soldiers with ties to Mercer County. A private donation of $2,500 has also been pledged to furnish shipping costs.
Rose’s also joined the project, promising a 10 percent discount on the supplies purchased at the Stafford Drive store.
“It’s just a good thing to do, to support the troops,” Gaylon Price, of Rose’s said Tuesday.
The goods the team purchased included toothbrushes, batteries, boxed hard candy and other basic items often taken for granted at home.
“It’s just something little to say, ‘Hey, we appreciate what you guys are doing,’” Maxwell said.
If the effort makes life in the desert or mountains of Afghanistan a little easier, he said it would be worth all the work.
For more information, call (304) 487-8985.
— Contact Tammie Toler at ttoler@ptonline.net.
