ITEM PHOTO BY OWEN O’ROURKE
General Electric volunteers from left, Lance Taylor, Jim Harkins, George Kapeleris, Panny Louf, and Adam Baran, pack items for overseas service people.
By THOR JOURGENSEN
LYNN — Adam Baran and his River Works coworkers mailed 5,000 pounds of charity and goodwill last year to military servicemen and women stationed around the world.
For nine years, the General Electric logistics plant employees have dedicated lunch breaks, vacations, weekends and spare time to pack cardboard boxes full of food, toiletries and other necessities and mail the boxes across the globe to grateful military members like Swampscott resident Patrick Burke.
After receiving a package from GE workers while serving overseas in 2013, Burke wrote to Baran and his fellow employees, “you have our backs and we appreciate it.”
Logistics workers initially joined forces with the Lynn Veterans Council to send packages overseas to troops in Afghanistan and Iraq. The first packages sent out were stuffed with toiletries, canned soup and what River Works material handler Penny Louf called “the basics.”
The donation drive spread across the sprawling West Lynn plant and drew in families and friends of workers, local schools, including Swampscott’s Clarke School. Donations increased to 500 pounds a month, on average, with total contributions easily surpassing two tons a year.
“It takes zero effort to get things because of the GE community and the communities around it,” Baran said.
Baran, Louf and their fellow employees drew on their daily work skills to make their worldwide donation effort succeed. They are responsible for packing and shipping military parts around the world.
Louf said Burke is a good example of a military service member who received a donation package and distributed items in it to fellow servicemen and women. Baran said the nine-year effort has identified socks, coffee and T-shirts among items most popular with service members.
Logistic material handler Terry Marchand of Lynn got involved in the overseas donation effort to honor her Navy veteran daughter, Cheri. Coworker Lance Taylor began gathering and packing donated items almost two years ago as a way to thank his brother, Wade, for his Navy service.
“I feel engaged and happy,” he said.
GE shipper James Harkins said email replies sent by military personnel receiving donations inspire him to help pack more items for shipment.
“You can see the smiles on their faces,” he said.
Thor Jourgensen can be reached at tjourgensen@itemlive.com