Call it an assembly line of good wishes for the women in harm's way overseas.
"There were different stations set up for deodorant, hair products, tampons, taping and other items," said Pamela Samuels Young said. "Everyone would go from station to station filling them up."
More than 100 women took time out of their busy schedules during the just-concluded holiday season to prepare and send care packages for black women who are serving active duty in Kuwait, Afghanistan and Iraq.
The volunteers put together two packages each for 105 women, according Young, a local writer who hosted the packing party at the Savoy Entertainment Center in Inglewood, just a few miles south of Los Angeles.
The care packages were made by volunteers of The Sister Soldiers Project, a San Luis Obispo-based nonprofit organization developed in 2006 by hospitality consultant Myraline Morris Whitaker. It was by chance that Whitaker discovered the need of ethnic personal care products for black women serving overseas.
"I was talking with a Caucasian woman who saw a black female Marine pressing her hair, and she had to leave the room because she couldn't bear to watch it" and didn't care for the smell of burning hair, Whitaker said. "It was a defining moment for me, because I wondered what black women in the Middle East were doing to care for their hair. I couldn't imagine ever being without my hair care products; I'd never be able to put a comb through my head."
Whitaker researched and located the Web site www.AnySoldier.com, which provides assistance to soldiers overseas. She typed in a search for "ethnic hair" and the names of several soldiers popped up with requests.
"I couldn't believe it," she said. "They had listed requests for specific hair products, and other items like long-sleeved T-shirts. I couldn't stop looking. I went through my stash of unused hair care products and sent them off."
After filling up four boxes of her own, Whitaker solicited help from her book club, Sisterfriends, to donate items and prepare care packages for the soldiers. Eventually, their book club meetings turned into what they called a "packing party," and the members named their new initiative The Sister Soldiers Project in honor of the book club.
Over the past couple of years, Whitaker has received many letters and text messages of thanks, including an emotional letter from a group of black female soldiers in Iraq who were so thrilled about their care package that they held a "hair night" party to celebrate and style their hair.
To date, the organization has sent off about 600 packages with items such as hair care products, toiletries, books and magazines, Whitaker said.
"This year has been extraordinary," Whitaker said. "Every time we've hosted a packing party, someone else volunteered to host one. We've managed to touch thousands with our outreach."
Young decided to host the packing party at the Savoy after learning about The Sister Soldiers Project from a friend. After the packing party, Young, her husband, and the volunteers drove the care packages straight to the post office to have them shipped. They unloaded all of the boxes in back of the post office for international shipping, Young said.
"The whole process took about three hours," she said. "Two hundred and ten forms had to be stamped six times, and you have to tear one page at a time and stick it on each side of (the) box. It was a big ordeal but well worth it."
"I wanted to help other sisters and also show my appreciation for the sacrifice that they are making for all of us," said Sister Soldiers Project volunteer Gayle Pollard-Terry. "I get so much pleasure just thinking about someone getting a nice box full of goodies.
Young said she plans to organize future packing parties in Atlanta and Washington, D.C. "It's a way to reach out to my sisters overseas that are defending our country," she said. "I can't imagine being in a war zone at this time of the year and away from family."
The care packages are all prepared and mailed by the volunteers for $9.80, and the average weight of each care package is about eight pounds.
The biggest concern has always been having enough money for postage, but people have been generous with their donations, Whitaker said.
"The military mandates that long hair (be) pulled back, and without these types of items black women can't pull their hair back," she added. "They all want to look presentable in particular places like Iraq and Afghanistan, where most are not used to seeing black people." Whitaker said water in those areas is hard and the weather is dry, and that ruins their hair. Many of the women have to use bottled water to rinse their hair, she said.
The most popular items requested by the soldiers are various relaxers, shampoos, conditioners and styling gels mostly produced by ethnic hair care suppliers Luster's Pink, Dr. Miracle's, Let's Jam and Organic Root Stimulator.
And what sister hasn't faced a challenge with her hair? It's important to help others with no expectations, to give joy and share the wealth."
The packing parties have been growing since their inception.
The vice president of SoftSheen-Carson, an ethnic hair care manufacturer, wanted to conduct an unprecedented bigger, better party, Whitaker said.
She added that 250 soldiers in need of products were located, and Whitaker was flown to SoftSheen-Carson's New York headquarters, where their corporate staff held "the best ever" packing party a couple of weeks ago.
Each package had a handwritten note from a staff member, she said.
The next packing party will be January 17 in Santa Clarita.
"If I can give them a sense of home and help them, it's important (to) do so," Whitaker said. "We do this year round because they're in need of things year round. The only difficult task is finding postage money, but it's never too much to bring a tremendous amount of joy to these women."
More information:
www.sistersoldierproject.com
Erika McCarden is a writer for the L.A. Watts Times. Samuel Richard contributed to this report.
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