Parents of soldiers overseas band together for support

Windsor chapter of ‘Operation Mom’ forms to send care
packages to loved ones in the military in the Middle
East
by NATHAN WRIGHT – Staff Writer
When Joanne Abrao’s son was deployed to Kuwait in February, her
life changed.
“I was desperately needing something,” she said. “I’ve never had
feelings like this before.”
Fear, grief and alone are the first words she uses to identify
the feelings. Fear and grief will remain until her son, Lance
Corporal James Abrao, USMC, has returned. But she is no longer
alone.
Turning to her community, Abrao found Operation Mom, a Bay Area
organization with which she can identify. Started by two women with
sons in the Marines, Operation Mom is a community of people with
loved ones in the military.
With groups in Antioch, Castro Valley, Livermore, San Francisco,
San Jose, Novato, Sacramento and now Windsor, Abrao and Operation
Mom are looking for people in Sonoma County in need of support to
join its ranks.
Although Abrao is a Windsor resident, she is welcoming all
residents in and around Sonoma County who are interested in
joining.
“Its main purpose is to be a support group,” said Dotti
Selmeczki, who founded Operation Mom with Gloria Godchaux in
Antioch. “It’s not about politics. None of us want our children
over there.”
With support being its primary objective, Operation Mom also has
a second and third objective. Once every two months, the group
sends out “a little touch of home” in the form of care packages
they mail directly to their sons. Each care package contains eight
to 10 baggies full of snack food, which is shared once it reaches
the Middle East. The organization also includes an educational
component, striving to teach the returning service men and women
what benefits are available to members of the armed forces.
Windsor resident Anita Macoubrie, whose son is also in the
Middle East, stresses the need for the community to come together
and share information. “There’s zero information for families,” she
said. Macoubrie has joined Abrao in Operation Mom, and is hoping
that the Windsor chapter will continue to grow.
Selmeczki admits she’s a little overwhelmed by the growing
popularity of her organization. With only five members in December,
the group’s membership has soared past 200 in the past two months
and continues to grow.
“With this going so fast, we don’t want it to go out of
control,” she said.
Operation Mom is being aided by the California Veterans Advocacy
Groups, to help them attain non-profit status. In return for its
help, Operation Mom has agreed to donate all food they are unable
to send to the Middle East to homeless veterans.
Abrao and Selmeckzi haven’t worked out how Windsor will fit into
the care package routine, but they’re confident that the Windsor
group will fit right in with the rest of Operation Mom.
For those interested in joining, information can be obtained
online at www.operationmom.org, or by calling 925-706-1736.
The Windsor group is planning on meeting with the Novato group
until it grows large enough to hold its own meetings. There is no
cost to join and care packages are sent directly to specific loves
ones via the U.S. Post Office.