Back in 2004, Jim and Linda Yakubsin started the Military Support Group for Alachua County (MSGFAC). According to Linda Goodwin, meeting organizer and contact for the group, Jim Yakubsin is a veteran of Operation Desert Storm and, at the time, both families had sons deployed to Iraq.
While the MSGFAC began with two families, it gained additional members and volunteers through word of mouth across town and a basic Web site. Now, the MSGFAC is a registered 501c3 nonprofit organization. The group holds its meetings at the First United Church of Alachua on the first and third Thursday of every month.
At the meetings, volunteers introduce themselves and talk about who they may be currently supporting overseas. After discussion, volunteers take empty boxes that are already labeled with a service member’s address and pack them full of snack foods, magazines and hygiene products that are piled on tables in the room. Volunteers are responsible for taking the packages to their local post office and mailing them to deployed military personnel. The MSGFAC reimburses volunteers for the shipping fee ($10.95 per box) at the next meeting.
Our Mission
- Tangible support
- Give tangible support to the military personnel from our area that are in those areas of conflict, particularly in the Middle East. This is done by collecting, packaging and sending items they need. We will let them know that we are thinking about them and supporting them.
- Support the families
- Give support to the families of those who are currently serving. Some family members are now trying to make ends meet with less income. Some find it difficult to accomplish all the daily activities without having someone there to help. Some of them need reassurance and emotional support while someone they love is in a dangerous situation. Some will find comfort knowing they are not in this alone.
- Assisting returning veterans
- Give support to our military personnel as they return to our community. Some may need someone to talk to. Some may need counseling. Some just need to get their household lives back in order. Our role is to identify resources for help in these areas.
- Getting the word out
- Give support to our community by getting the word out as we hear it. We know that the situation is not as bleak as the media portrays it to be. We need to share the stories that show what a positive difference our military personnel are making to the people in Iraq and Afghanistan.
