A Mobile business is turning a family connection to the military into a Gulf Coast-wide donation drive, collecting supplies for U.S. troops stationed overseas.
The owners of Floor Trader started the “Treats for Troops” collection after talking with their son, Shawn, a member of the U.S. Marine Corps currently on his fourth overseas deployment. During one of those conversations, Shawn told his mother, Vicki Rhodes, that many service members he serves alongside do not have family back home, or don’t have relatives with the means to regularly send care packages.
That conversation became the spark for a company-wide effort. Vicki worked with her son to put together a detailed list of items troops actually need and can use in the field, then opened up donation drop-off points at all three Floor Trader locations along the coast: Mobile, Gulfport and Gautier.
The wish list leans practical rather than sentimental. Organizers are asking for basic hygiene items such as toothbrushes, toothpaste, hand wipes and unscented lotion, along with foot powder, multivitamins, and fly tape, since flying insects are a persistent nuisance for deployed troops during the summer months. Soft-cover books and magazines, along with letters and children’s drawings, are also welcome, giving service members something personal from home.
Snacks make up a major part of the drive, with a few important restrictions. Anything sent must remain in its original packaging, and organizers are asking that chocolate be left off donation lists entirely, since it doesn’t hold up to shipping times and overseas heat. Suggested snack items include protein bars, beef jerky, instant coffee, small pop-top canned fruit, trail mix, nuts, pretzels and instant oatmeal.
Because shipping supplies overseas isn’t free, organizers are also accepting cash donations earmarked specifically to cover freight costs, which can add up quickly when sending boxes of goods across the ocean to military installations.
The drive reflects a broader tradition along the Gulf Coast of communities rallying around deployed service members, particularly around the Fourth of July and other summer holidays when troops overseas are far from home. By tying the effort to a family with a direct personal connection to a deployed Marine, Floor Trader’s initiative gives Mobile-area residents and businesses a tangible, hands-on way to support troops beyond flag-waving and social media posts.
Organizers say the collection will continue on a rolling basis at all three store locations for as long as community donations keep coming in, with periodic shipments packed and sent overseas to reach deployed units.