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Mother sending thousands of holiday cards to sailors
Karen Bonanno's son, Vincent, will be on board the U.S.S. Nimitz this Christmas.
MANATEE COUNTY (Bay News 9) -- A Manatee mother's plan to send her son a holiday card while he serves overseas has grown into something much larger.
Karen Bonanno's 19-year-old son Vincent is in the U.S. Navy, serving aboard the U.S.S. Nimitz in the Indian Ocean. Her son was supposed to be home for the holidays, but his deployment was extended.Since he'll be overseas, Bonanno, and the group she belongs to Navy for Moms, decided to send cards to him and his strike group. That gesture grew to include even more military men and women.
But when she notified the Navy about her plans, she got some shocking news.
"The Navy has decided that we need to do this for entire strike fleet, not just the Nimitz," she said.
That means Bonanno needed to send out more than 10,000 cards.
So Bonanno, who works at Nolan Middle School in Lakewood Ranch, turned to the school district for help.
Within a few days, she received thousands of homemade cards for sailors, plus a lot of help sorting them out.
Navy for Moms, and all of the mothers involved in the group helped her.
These are just a few of the homemade cards that will be making their way to the Indian Ocean.
Bonanno said that, while the cards will mean a lot to the men and women who are protecting our country, they are special to her as well.
"We can't be there to hold them or hug them for the holidays, but knowing we've sent this will put a little bit of joy in their lives for the holiday, and that means a lot," she said.
The cards are being mailed out this early because they have to be sent by Nov. 13 if they are to make it to the sailors in time for Christmas.
Anyone who wishes to help Bonanno with the cards can call 941-751-8200 ext. 251.
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