The Coast News Group
The Oceanside-based nonprofit Spirit of Sharing has helped to provide active duty military families in need with some holiday cheer. Since 2000, the nonprofit has helped more than 300 military families.
The Oceanside-based nonprofit Spirit of Sharing has helped to provide active duty military families in need with some holiday cheer. Since 2000, the nonprofit has helped more than 300 military families.
Marketplace News

Help bring holiday joy to our military heroes

Help be a hero to the heroes this holiday season. 

For military families with loved ones deployed, it’s hard enough to have to endure a holiday season without their mother or father around the dinner table. And still harder if their loved one comes back having sustained combat injuries.

That’s why the nonprofit S.O.S. (Spirit of Sharing) is rising to the occasion by helping provide not only the basic necessities any family would need, but also by bringing a little holiday cheer into the lives of military families that are in need.

The primary focus of S.O.S. has always been to provide the elements of the holiday season that a family might not ordinarily be able to enjoy.

S.O.S. helps all active duty military families purchase holiday food items at Thanksgiving, and for Christmas, the kids get wrapped presents from Santa Claus.

Striving to build relationships with each family, S.O.S. is able to gain better insight and understanding of individual and familial needs and interests.

Each family is generally provided with several weeks’ worth of groceries and all of the goodies that make the holiday season so warm, comforting, and special.

S.O.S. also provides each child in these families with age-appropriate and personal gifts, including clothing, educational materials and toys.

Each gift is individually wrapped and labeled by our wonderful volunteers and personally delivered at Christmas.

Based in Oceanside, Calif. the small nonprofit helps active duty military families throughout Southern California, from the Naval Base in San Diego to Edwards Air Force Base.

Since 2000, when the charity was started with the adoption of two families for the holiday season, they’ve continued to grow each year.

To date, more than 700 military children and 300 military families have received help from S.O.S.

The Campbell family, who founded S.O.S. is very sensitive to the stresses that military children experience’

In fact, many of those working with S.O.S. are military veterans and/or spouses.

With the toll of multiple deployments over the last 10 years affecting families, S.O.S. is seeing an increase in the amount of military families in need.

And they still need help to continue to do so.

With year-round fundraising efforts, S.O.S. is always looking for donations of any kind, including gas cards, gift cards for clothing, toys — even groceries.

People interested in donating items may call S.O.S. directly at (760) 859-5911, or emailing questions to [email protected].

More information is available on their website at spiritofsharing.org. The S.O.S. office is at 3355 Mission Ave. Suite 11 in Oceanside.