Along with picking up fresh strawberries or bread at the Brookfield farmers market, visitors can also donate money or goods to support troops overseas in Iraq and Iran.

Resident Gary Kaminskas approached the Brookfield Chamber of Commerce earlier this year with an idea: to find a way for the village to support the troops overseas.

“I can’t serve because I have a genetic illness,” Kaminskas said. “When I was younger, I would always play Army, and I wanted to be a military officer. I had to find a way to serve.”

Even though he cannot be in the military, supporting those in the service has always been a part of his life.

“Back in the 1980s, my mom and dad did a collection for the troops in Beirut,” Kaminskas said. “I was 7 or 8 at the time. Everyone was really energetic. We had a friend that worked at a box company, so he donated the boxes, and we collected socks, deodorant, toothbrushes, toothpaste, toilet paper and candy. We each put together our own care packages, and it was all stuff we took for granted that they really needed.”

That collection with his parents inspired Kaminskas to investigate ways to help today’s troops serving overseas.

“I was doing some research on the Internet, and I saw how bad the troops had it in Iraq and Iran,” Kaminskas said. “Then I joined OSOTIL — the Illinois Operation Support Our Troops group — and went to the Brookfield Chamber to try and get their support.”

Kaminskas originally wanted to have an all-day event where people could learn more about the organization and donate their goods, but as he and his wife work different hours for FedEx and UPS, respectively, he had to prioritize and decided a weekly event would work better.
Chamber Director Patty Weber instantly liked the idea because of the Brookfield focus and convenience for residents.

“The two people organizing this are from Brookfield, so they’re invested in the area,” Weber said. “They’ve made it very convenient for the residents — if they are coming to the market to shop or pick up produce, they also have a really easy place to drop something off.”

The first Saturday that the Kaminskas couple had a donation booth, June 20, no one knew what to bring, so everyone donated money.

“They collected $181,” Weber said. “The next week, they had a big write-up next to their booth with two long receipts of everything they had bought for the troops.”

Once items are collected at the market, Kaminskas transports them to a warehouse in Lisle.

There are a myriad of items the troops need, but the top five items on the Web site are every day conveniences, like cold drink mix packets for bottles water, unscented wipes, bags of beef jerky, cereal bars and foot powder.

“Our world is really not in good shape right now,” Kaminskas said. “It makes me smile to know that I can help these men and women who are risking their lives for us. This is what I was put out to do.”

The Operation Support Our Troops booth will also be collecting donations at the Brookfield Car Show July 26. The show is on Broadway just west of Brookfield Circle, and will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.