Special Kindness In Packages, Inc. (also known as SKIP or SKIP Cares) was a U.S. 501(c)(3) charitable

nonprofit corporation A nonprofit corporation is any legal entity which has been incorporated under the law of its jurisdiction for purposes other than making profits for its owners or shareholders. Depending on the laws of the jurisdiction, a nonprofit corporation ma ...

that provided free and fun care packages to

U.S. military The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. U.S. federal law names six armed forces: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and the Coast Guard. Since 1949, all of the armed forces, except th ...

personnel deployed overseas.

History

In 2004 SKIP was founded by Tracy Stiers to honor her brother,

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

Sgt(ret.) Skip Spoerke, who had deployed to

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

. The organization started out small, sending a handful of care packages to Spoerke and his friends each month, and developed to accommodate the growing requests for care packages coming in. By the time Spoerke returned home in February 2006, SKIP was sending upwards of 75 care packages every month to deployed troops around the world. At its peak, SKIP shipped more than 1,500 care packages to deployed

soldiers A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a conscripted or volunteer enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, a warrant officer, or an officer. Etymology The word ''soldier'' derives from the Middle English word ...

sailors A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship. While the term ''sailor'' ...

airmen An airman is a member of an air force or air arm of a nation's armed forces. In certain air forces, it can also refer to a specific enlisted rank. An airman can also be referred to as a soldier in other definitions. As a military rank designat ...

, and

marines Marines (or naval infantry) are military personnel generally trained to operate on both land and sea, with a particular focus on amphibious warfare. Historically, the main tasks undertaken by marines have included Raid (military), raiding ashor ...

each year. On December 31, 2011, SKIP ended its mission of sending care packages.

Military care packages

SKIP's Care Packages For Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines were among the most requested care packages by deployed

US military The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. U.S. federal law names six armed forces: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and the Coast Guard. Since 1949, all of the armed forces, except th ...

members around the world. Care packages shipped by SKIP were free for deployed troops.

SKIP care package contents

* Books * DVDs * CDs *

iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...

(or similar) gift cards * Card Games and Playing Cards * Small toys * Puzzles * Cards/Letters from home * Candy * Popcorn/Peanuts * Water Guns (summer seasonal)

References

{{reflist
PRlog.org - SKIP Leadership Changes Hands

Guidestar Nonprofit Report: Special Kindness in Packages, Inc.
United States military support organizations 501(c)(3) organizations