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Date: 12/7/2022
WESTFIELD — On Dec. 3 at the YMCA of Greater Westfield, Jillian Battles once again achieved her goal to stuff 800 “goodie bags” for members of the Armed Forces and veterans as a thank-you for their service.
“Yesterday was absolutely amazing! So many volunteers turned out to help Jillian stuff her 800 bags for our troops and veterans. It was so beautiful to see so many from the community come together,” said her mother Jen Battles.
Battles, a sophomore at Westfield High School, was joined by students from the Leaders Club, the Key Club, the Westfield YMCA Wave Swim team, the National Honor Society and members of the Westfield High School staff.
Westfield Mayor Michael McCabe, state Rep. Kelly Pease, Medic Now Foundation representative and City Councilor Nicholas Morganelli, Dave Sutton of One Call Away and many veterans and their families also joined in.
The reusable bags, donated by Big Y, were stuffed with instant coffee, hot cocoa, boxes of tea, ramen noodles, gummy bears, granola bars, trail mix, Rice Krispie treats, cookies, crackers, hard candies, toothpaste, toothbrushes, floss picks, disposable razors, lip balm, deodorant, hand sanitizer, tissue packets, decks of cards, pens, pencils and puzzle books and blankets or throws. They were brought to Barnes Air National Guard Base in Westfield to be sent to military bases.
“Dave Sutton from One Call Away was an absolute godsend helping us get the bags to Barnes and also to the various locations for our veterans,” Jen Battles said.
She said their friend Tom Heavren was another “godsend,” packing 111 bags into his minivan and delivering them to the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home. He then returned to load again and bring the rest of the bags to One Call Away to be distributed to veterans’ organizations.
The Battleses thanked Big Y, J.L. Raymaakers, Crestview Construction, Mestek, Advance Manufacturing, Westfield Stop & Shop, Westfield Bank, Sarat Ford, Bigelow Tea, Westfield Gas & Electric, Little Debbie McKee Foods, West Springfield Costco, Westfield Home Depot, Westfield Walmart, Albanese Candy, Shortstop Bar & Grill, Baystate Dental, Kasperowski Family Dentistry, MGM Springfield, Fitness First and many private donations that helped make the effort possible.
Her mother said for every “yes” that Jillian heard when asking for donations, she had about six “no’s,” because she doesn’t have nonprofit status for the project.
“It didn’t discourage her, though. She continued to email and call and pound the pavement asking in person, hoping for that one ‘yes.’ Because every little bit adds up to a whole lot in the end. Our troops and veterans should never, ever have to struggle for anything and they deserve nothing but the best,” said Jen Battles.
Extra donations will be split between the local veterans’ food pantries at One Call Away and Project New Hope.
Jen Battles said Jillian plans on doing this every year and hopes to get the community even more involved. At the end of the day, Jillian was presented with a Good Deed award from the American Legion Post 124 Auxiliary for her efforts on behalf of the troops and veterans.