By Suzanne Hodgson

Staff Writer

A local care package drivehas successfully touched a number of Maine soldiers stationed overseas, as wellas the woman who started the drive.

Melissa Provencher ofBiddeford began a care package drive from her Kennebunk business Brown FoxPrinting in December. Now she is teaming up with other organizations forcollections.

Provencher is asking forcell phones as part of the Cell Phones for Soldiers Drive. The drive takes oldcell phones and recycles them to give soldiers an hour worth of phone cards tocall home.

Malcolm Kenney of PeaseGreeters has been handing out phone cards to soldiers going overseas and askedProvencher to help with donations. Kenney also gave her cards to put in thecare packages. Pease Greeters greet every incoming and outgoing flight ofsoldiers at Pease Air Terminal in Portsmouth, N.H.

A brother and sister inNorwell, Mass., started the cell phone drive in 2004 when they heard of asoldier who spent thousands of dollars calling home and wanted to do somethingto help.

Now thedrive has grown across the country and in the past five years the program hashanded out more than 500,000 calling cards to soldiers overseas.

Provencher’sCare Package drive has grown, too.

Shebegan the drive by asking for flea collars soldiers could wear around theirboots, lip balm, toothpaste and nonperishable foods to include in 25 packagesfor Maine soldiers stationed overseas.

Sincethat time, Provencher has sent out 100 care packages to soldiers from acrossthe country, and said she has no plans of stopping, even though her originalJan. 31 deadline has passed.

Justlast week she said she had more donations.

Provencherhas received thousands of tubes of lib balm, donated toothpaste from Tom’s ofMaine and more than $5,000 to help ship boxes overseas. Donations have comefrom Connecticut to northern Maine. 

“It’smostly retired military guys,” she said. Her father is a military veteran, butshe didn’t realize how many veterans lived in Maine until the drive.

“Afriend told me recently there are 175,000 veterans living in Maine,” Provenchersaid.

In thebeginning, Provencher had a list of all soldiers from Maine and sent carepackages to every name on the list.

“I knowthey’re sharing what’s in the boxes,” she said.

Now shehas moved on to base camps or any soldier’s name she finds as donations keeppouring in. A few weeks ago a woman came in with a bag of donations and askedher to send one to her grandson and to one of his bunkmates who never receivedany mail.

When thedrive first started Provencher said it would be amazing if she ever heard fromone soldier who received her package. Since December, she has received fiveletters, one bouquet and a phone call from soldiers who are thankful for whatshe is doing.

“Thesewill be my most treasured possessions,” she said of the letters she hasreceived from soldiers.

Provencherhas even adopted the soldier who called her through Soldier’s Angels programand has since been sending regular e-mails and letters to the unit.

“Peopleare so appreciative, it’s been such a success, I can’t even tell you,”Provencher said.

StaffWriter Suzanne Hodgson can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 233.