For troops serving far away from loved ones, getting a package of goodies can be a wonderful reminder that someone back home is thinking of them. And these days, it’s easier than ever to send a box of treats to troops through Crown Royal.
Crown Royal is best known for its blended Canadian whisky, but it has also become popular for The Purple Bag Project, which it has done in partnership with Packages From Home since 2010. In 2018, Crown Royal announced it had a goal of sending 1 million care packages in their iconic purple bags to U.S. Armed Forces service members by 2020.
Packages From Home is a nonprofit organization that sends these packages to those on active duty stationed worldwide. In 2004, founder Kathleen Lewis’ son Christian was deployed to Iraq. So Kathleen invited friends and neighbors to monthly “Packing Parties,” where they would box up supplies and goodies to send to Christian and the soldiers in his squad. Word of the parties spread, and a program was born. By 2020, the organization had shipped 115,000 care packages overseas and expanded its distribution network to include frontline workers.
Diageo North America, the beverage company that owns Crown Royal, shared a tweet in December 2020 about its involvement in the program.
“Diageo North America employees & partners assembled 10,000 care packages from home for our deployed U.S. military on Veteran’s Day & contributed to @CrownRoyal’s milestone of 1mm bags packed,” the company tweeted.
Diageo North America employees & partners assembled 10,000 care packages from home for our deployed U.S. military on Veteran’s Day & contributed to @CrownRoyal’s milestone of 1mm bags packed! More here: https://t.co/95RZr0oJO2 @PkgsFromHome pic.twitter.com/PhLMjY9IxU
— Diageo North America (@Diageo_NA) November 17, 2020
Three years later, the program is still going strong — and you can still get involved. Crown Royal is making it possible for any adult to virtually pack a custom military care package, free of charge.
Simply go to the website and select four of the troops’ most requested and needed items, and Crown Royal will pack them up and send them overseas for you.
Choices include:
- Beef jerky
- Cookies
- Fruit snacks
- Nuts
- Peanut butter singles
- Popcorn
- Protein bar or granola bar
- Tea
After selecting the items of your choice, you can enter a personal message. Of course, the message must be appropriate and is subject to approval. After confirming that you’re not a robot, submit the form to complete your package. Crown Royal will do the rest.
In 2020, country music artist Kane Brown remixed his song “Homesick” for Crown Royal and Packages From Home. The webpage for The Crown Royal Purple Bag Project still says that if you stream the video, it will put together one care package and donate $1 to Minority Veterans of America.
It is unclear if the goal of $100,000 for the veteran organization has been met; the YouTube version has 40,000 views, but the video exists in other places as well, including Facebook and The Purple Bag Project’s webpage.
To find other ways to get involved, visit PackagesFromHome.com to learn about volunteering, starting a service project, hosting a packing party or making a donation.
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