Miami Heat Make Care Packages for Troops Overseas

The packages are sent to troops who wouldn't otherwise get mail

The Miami Heat teamed up with America’s Moms For Soldiers for the fourth year in a row to make care packages for U.S. troops overseas Monday.

Heat President Pat Riley was among those taking the time to make sure that we don't take our troops for granted.

“This is real. What goes into this box is real, and it’s real for the fact that these men and women are sacrificing their lives and their time, portions of their life when they could be doing other things, protecting our country,” Riley said, holding a care package.

The care packages are aimed at troops who would not otherwise get mail, said volunteer Lauren Ackerman of America’s Moms for Soldiers.

“We have one mission and one mission only and that is to send care packages to deployed servicemen and women in Afghanistan who would not otherwise get mail from home,” she said. “In other words, they never hear their name at mail call and we make sure that they do.”

Along with fleece blankets, snacks and other holiday goodies, the troops will also get personal letters of thanks from Heat players like Miami native James Jones.

“We admire them, they’re our heroes,” Jones said at AmericanAirlines Arena. “You know, we may play this game every night, and we go out there and we compete, but hopefully what we do brings them joy and hopefully what we do excites them, and as long as they know that they have fans on this end I think we’ll all be happy.”

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