Full Circle Home

About a year and a half ago, I started writing short articles for a neighborhood publication – the Houston Barnard Magazine – under the heading “Making a Difference.” The editor allows me to choose the topic and gives me a healthy word allowance. There’s no compensation, but if even one reader is inspired to get involved in one of the non-profits I highlight, then I’ve spent my time wisely! After alluding to Full Circle Home in my recent blog about Rocappella’s trip to D.C., I thought it might be interesting to share an article I wrote for the magazine about that organization.

In 2007, Rochester resident Vickie Durfee had an idea. She and her good friend (and also a Rochesterian) Lisa Miller both had sons in the military. They understood first-hand the anxiety of having loved-ones stationed abroad, and the absence was particularly acute at holidays. So they teamed up to create a charity that would send Christmastime gift boxes, on behalf of the troops, to their special women at home – wives, mothers, sisters, or girlfriends. The packages included 12 pampering gifts, individually wrapped, as well as a hand-written note by the servicemen. In the first year, Vickie and Lisa worked primarily on their own, and managed to package, wrap, and send 150 gift boxes, primarily on behalf of their sons’ platoons.

In the almost 10 years since Full Circle Home began in Vickie’s basement, the operation has grown exponentially. The organization, a full-fledged 501c3, now has donated warehouse space in Brighton, where items are stocked for the upcoming holidays, which now include Mothers’ and Fathers’ Days. They average 1000 packages a year at both the December holidays and Mothers’ Day, and several hundred at Fathers’ Day. In total, Full Circle Home has distributed over 18,000 gift boxes since its inception.

Obviously, it’s not possible for Vickie and Lisa to wrap and box all of these gifts on their own, so they’ve also expanded to have wrapping parties. They usually coordinate with school groups or corporate sponsored events. The corporate events make a donation to the charity as well as provide labor to wrap. Vickie and Lisa are happy to travel for the corporate wrapping events, since not all of them occur in the Rochester area.

Full Circle Home caters primarily to active duty service members, who either sign up on the internet or in person. Vickie, Lisa, or one of their associates travel to a pre-deployment site, since the goal is to capture the service members’ actual handwriting on the notes to be included in the boxes. Each service member may choose one recipient per holiday, and there is no longer any gender discrimination; gifts are sent to and on behalf of people of both sexes. The exception to the ‘active duty’ requirement is for Walter Reed patients. Vickie and Lisa personally visit them twice a year, so that these recovering wounded warriors can participate in the program as well.

The organization relies on donations of both goods and money. For example, sometimes a school is looking for a Veterans’ Day project, so Full Circle Home supplies a list of needs – e.g., spa socks, pocket tissues (which go with every love note), ribbons, or strapping tape. Monetary donations are used to purchase most of the items that go in the box. Lisa proudly explains that she negotiates very aggressively with manufacturers, to get the best price, and they look for items that are made in America, whenever possible. Full Circle Home has no paid employees, so all donations directly support the actual program.

The boxes have evolved from mostly personal care products to a wide array of gifts, sometimes including Vera Bradley items, Harney Tea, and jewelry – little things that will remind the recipient of his or her service member. Full Circle Home not only brings joy to the recipients, but also to the service members, who are relieved to have someone helping them coordinate gifts while they are deployed.

Full Circle Home keeps a binder of all of the touching thank you notes it receives, with sentiments such as these: “When I received the box, I was so surprised, Love from Iraq! .... Upon opening it and reading the enclosed cards, I began to cry. Not sad tears, happy ones…. I thought, am I actually remembered? It’s easy to focus so much on my 3 children, and making sure that their needs are being met, and then making sure my husband’s taken care of…. It felt so great to know I MATTERED TOO!”

Vickie’s and Lisa’s sons came home from Iraq in 2009. But the labor of love has continued, and they sadly see no end in sight.