Many items have been collected for women veterans

From staff reports

A campaign to collect items for women deployed on active duty in the U.S. military is picking up steam.

“We received many items at Sunday’s Pack-the-Plaza event in Oil City and then just a day later a whole lot came in to the Oil City Library,” said Mary Kay Johnston, an Army veteran from Oil City. “It’s wonderful.”

Johnston and Jeannine Guth, a Marine veteran from Oil City, signed on to assist with Operation Courage is Beautiful, a national campaign led by a non-profit organization supporting women in the U.S. armed forces. It promotes care packages for women service members serving at overseas posts.

Operation Courage is Beautiful is designed “to bring a little joy and femininity to our deployed servicewomen,” said Johnston.

Items being collected include sunscreen, makeup, nail care products, hair products, loofahs, hair ties/pins, small tissue packets, books, women’s socks, notes of thanks/words of encouragement and children’s artwork.

The collection sites are at the Oil City Library, YMCA, YWCA, commissioners office in the Venango County courthouse and Action Auto on Route 257.

The items will be collected now through March 25 when Johnston and Guth will take them to a women veterans retreat at State College for mailing to servicewomen overseas.