By Camas Frank ~
A group of about 15 PG&E employees packed the garage of SLO resident, and eternal Marine, Si Tenenberg, on April 19 for a volunteer day.
It’s the third year that the folks from the local utility have turned out to help Tenenberg’s organization put together and mail care packages for combat troops overseas.
For those that have never seen the inside of Tenenberg’s home, a nondescript house in quiet SLO cul-de-sac, the amount of work he gets done can be a surprise. His garage, kitchen, den and even a pool table have all been pressed into service as storage and assembly line for approximately 15,000 care packages.
Since 2006, he’s sent items to mainly Iraq and Afghanistan, but this year he estimates that many of the items may well find their way to U.S. troops working ‘off the grid’ in Syria.
He said that the PG&E employees packed about 30 boxes and got them ready to be mailed, and took another six home to mail themselves. They also donated enough money amongst themselves to post another four.
The annual help from PG&E is part of the company’s Month of Service being held across their service territory in April.
“Giving back to the community is a key initiative for PG&E,” said Lindsey Miller, a company representative for the Central Coast. “We were happy to partner with Si and his organization to provide time and resources to help our troops overseas.”
Teneberg’s “Support the Troops” organization estimates that each box costs between $50 and $60 to produce, but they are more priceless than you can know in a combat zone. The company gave him a $2,500 grant to help pay for supplies for future boxes and shipping costs.
Tenenberg hopes that other companies with large workforces and an interest in community engagement will follow suit, perhaps Mindbody, with a headquarters less than a mile from his home.
“It would be good to expose the younger folks that work at places like that to what we are doing for guys and gals their own age serving overseas,” said Tenenberg. “They are serving over there so that the ones at home don’t have to.”
As he explained to PG&E’s John Lindsey, each care package is assembled according to a specific request from troops and contains toiletries, food, snacks, clothing items and magazines along with a letter of thanks and support.
As the number of troops gradually decreases in Afghanistan, the base exchanges (PXs) are the first facilities to be closed, leaving troops without the ability to purchase personal items. These care packages are needed more than ever, said Tenenberg.
More information is available on the website, see: www.troopcarepacks.org. Photo submitted.