Care Packages

ob Connolly says the boxes bound for U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan stacked in his UNC Kenan-Flagler office have nothing to do with his “day job” as an associate professor of international finance and economics. Nonetheless, his entrepreneurial altruism teaches lessons in leadership and organization.

Connolly decided in 2005 that it was his turn to say “we care” to the troops. Now he collects supplies, adds a personal note and ships packages full of books, magazines, shampoo, snacks and other items to troops posted “a two-hour convoy ride to get to a PX.”

He began by sending an e-mail plea for donations around his Chapel Hill neighborhood. He expected a dozen used paperbacks but got 180 pounds of books, CDs, hotel-sized toiletries, and even small stuffed animals. A note he posted on a UNC Kenan-Flagler bulletin board inspired a 2006 graduate to send an e-mail to his neighbors, too, which reached Bob Krueger, owner of the Great Harvest Bread Co. franchise in Chapel Hill. Cookies poured in. Word went out. People gave things to friends to drop off at Connolly’s home or office. One Saturday, war veterans from the school came to his house to help pack. Connolly is at the post office every couple of weeks; he has sent well over 300 care packages overseas at his own expense.

“The most remarkable group you meet are the folks on the other end. I don’t think I’ve ever laid eyes on one of them personally, but I have this remarkable correspondence that goes back and forth, and I’m amazed at how personally attached I get to these guys after a bit,” he said. The worst of war has not come to “his” people, but it’s been close. “I have one up in Walter Reed [Army Medical Center] right now, which is a real downer,” Connolly said. “One of these boxes is going up to him.”

Connolly knows his boxes get through. A recent e-mail from 1st Sgt. Tim Hockenberry of the 82nd Airborne Division read: “Today I received three boxes of delicious cookies and lots of letters and words of encouragement. I can tell you that the three boxes of cookies were gone before I could finish reading your letter. I don’t know if you have ever seen 167 hungry paratroopers before, but I can tell you it wasn’t pretty,” Hockenberry wrote, eliciting a chuckle from Connolly.

Hockenberry added: “I also appreciate that great Americans like you are supporting us from back home and even from our home state. It really means a lot to me and my paratroopers.”

Connolly never served in the military firsthand, but he learned to scan the Web site anysoldier.com for first sergeants. “They’re responsible for the enlisted men,” he said. “They know who doesn’t get much from home and who could use a boost.”

Sometimes, Connolly has eight good candidates but only two boxes left. “I hate that,” he said. “That’s the pits.” But another appreciative e-mail arrives, confirming his choices have been good.