HPC Global Donates to Operation Gratitude

HPC Global, Hanover, Pa., has become an Operation Gratitude Corporate Sponsor by donating more than 14,000 products for packages for U.S. military personnel and veterans. The donated items include sunscreen sprayers, antimicrobial hand sanitizer sprayers and gel bottles, as well as antimicrobial and other types of writing instruments.

Operation Gratitude sends care packages and personal letters of appreciation to military personnel and veterans. Since its inception in 2003, Operation Gratitude has sent more than 900,000 packages, and its goal is to reach one million packages this year. "HPC Global's generous donation to Operation Gratitude will help us distribute quality, needed products in the packages we send to the men and women serving our country around the world, as well as our much-appreciated veterans," said Carolyn Blashek, founder of Operation Gratitude.

HPC Global's parent company, Hanover Pen Corp., is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, and the decision to contribute to Operation Gratitude was a symbolic choice. "Throughout the last 33 years, HPC Global has donated our excess inventory to various charitable organizations," said Robert Houghland, HPC Global president and CEO. "Operation Gratitude's mission is especially meaningful to our family and our company's history. My late father and HPC Global's founder, William Houghland, served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, and my brother served in the U.S. Navy in during the Vietnam War."

"As we celebrate the company's 100th anniversary this year, we wanted to give back and honor the U.S. service members and veterans that have served our country so well," Houghland added. "They are true American heroes, and we applaud their service."

The company learned about Operation Gratitude when Barbara Dail, MAS, owner of Yorba Linda, California-based The Creative Solution, put HPC Global's vice president of sales Michael Kogutt, MAS, in contact with Operation Gratitude's Blashek to coordinate the donation. "Barbara is a big supporter of Operation Gratitude, and we thank her for connecting us with such a good cause," said Kogutt. "We hope our contribution will not only help Operation Gratitude reach its goal of one million packages sent this year but also make the soldiers' time overseas a little more bearable. They give so much for the freedoms we enjoy in this country, and it's important to give back to them and support them in any way possible."