January 2026 Newsletter

PG&E Christmas Support Delivers Cheer

Pacific Gas and Electric Company Christmas Packing Party

Wow we have been busy! December found us up to our elbows in Christmas Cheer culminating in our annual Pacific Gas and Electric Company Christmas Packing Party. PG&E  hosted this annual Christmas Packing Party featuring energetic, enthusiastic and spirited volunteers ready, willing and more than able to pack up in excess of 1,000 care packages.

PG&E’s special holiday packing event brings Christmas greetings to our deployed troops. These packages include Christmas stockings filled with candy, hot cocoa, candy canes, See’s Candy in special Christmas wrapping, and a whole bunch of other great snacks and necessities like premium beef jerky, gourmet coffee, hydration powders and gels from GU energy, Bambas socks and personal care items for the troops!

A New Year’s Resolution You Can Feel Great About

Christmas has come and gone, and the New Year has dawned. Gone is the reminder to have “A Holly Jolly Christmas!” as radio stations return to their regular mix of music and news. You remove your Christmas decor for storage as we go back to our everyday routine. Perhaps not as hectic, but a little bit less merry, nonetheless.

Resolutions made, maybe hanging in there or already returned to their “maybe later” shelf like an impulse purchase now regretted as gyms and churches go back to their pre-holiday capacity.

The holidays may indeed be in our rearview mirrors, however, that doesn’t mean our troops have had all their needs met and package requests fulfilled. We still have a myriad of troops serving right now, today as you read this, who are humbly hoping for a care package from home.

You can help make this year brighter for our troops by taking the opportunity to do something meaningful to bring joy to another all year long through our Monthly Smiles recurring donation program. Now that is a resolution one can get behind.

We make it extremely simple to join our contract-free Monthly Smiles Program. Recurring giving allows you to support our troops year-round. Simple, hassle free giving without the bother of getting on the website or picking up the phone and sending a care package.

Recurring giving is a snap and you can do so HERE and make your donation monthly, quarterly, or annually.

Moreover, you can dedicate your donation in honor or in memory of someone you hold dear. Finally, your care package wouldn’t be complete without your personalized message of support. You don’t need to be Hemingway or Shakespeare to dash off a heartfelt letter letting the troops know you are thinking of them. Once you enter your recurring donation, your personal note of support goes with each package you helped sponsor.

Just as Scrooge resolved in Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol: "I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.” We too, can resolve to honor the spirit of giving as we journey into this new year knowing we have our troops supported through our personal gift of Monthly Smiles.

FedEx Cares Breaks Their Own Record!

Once again, FedEx Cares comes through with a huge support effort to help Troopathon pack care packages in time for Christmas. Leave it to the experts in shipping to break their own record that they set last year of 1,200 care packages assembled by packing a whopping 1,300 this year! You should have see how fast and efficient these guys work.

FedEx Cares provided over 40 amazing volunteers during the busy Christmas shipping season to come in, stuff stockings to the brim with loads of special Christmas treats to hand pack a loads of boxes to head out to our deployed service members.

This outpouring of love and joy is proof of what can happen when an amazing community group comes together to support those who serve on our behalf.

Thank you, FedEx Cares! We couldn’t achieve our mission without volunteers like you taking time out of your busy lives to help those spending Christmas in conditions we just can’t imagine during the holiday season.  Suddenly having to spend a night or two crammed into a twin bed at Grandma’s house doesn’t seem like such an inconvenience after all.

‘Tis the Season to File Taxes

With the Christmas season behind us, a less joyous season draws near. Tax Season! That’s right, tax time is just around the corner, but don’t sweat it.  We have got you covered! Troopathon makes it easy to see your annual giving at a glance.

Check your email for our end of the year Annual Giving Summary. Our 2025 Annual Giving Summary dropped into your email box on January 7, 2026. If you don’t see it, you might need to check your spam folder.

Look for the subject line " Troopathon Year-End Donation Summary for {your name}." Your Annual Giving Summary emails to the email address we have on file for you.

If you accidentally deleted your receipt or just cannot find it in your in box don't fret! We are resending your end of the year summary again in February, just in time for the tax deadline.

For your convenience, you may request a summary at any time by calling us at (916) 441-6197 or email us at [email protected]. We’ll take care of you! After all, you take amazing care of our troops, and we appreciate it. That's why we will make sure receipts are a breeze.

Troopathon IS A TAX-EXEMPT 501(C)(3) CHARITY REGISTERED WITH THE INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE. (EIN/TAX ID #84-1627277) ALL DONATIONS ARE TAX DEDUCTIBLE

January Photo of the Month

Sending smiles in even the most spartan conditions

“A package from home would help us get through the deployment and make our time go by quicker. We will have something to look forward to as these packages would provide us with some sustainment and nourishment.” — Fattee X — USAF, deployed