Operation Gratitude: Donation & Shipping Info

You organized a wildly successful collection drive in support of deployed troops? That’s great! You have your own items to donate for care packages? That’s great, too! If you’re planning to send those donations to Operation Gratitude, we want to say THANK YOU for your generosity and support of our patriotic cause! Please read on for all you’ll need to know about getting those donations to us.

Detailed Shipping Information

1. Donation Form:

Please print out this Donation Form, complete it and include a completed form in EVERY carton you send to Operation Gratitude. This form is required in order to receive an acknowledgment of receipt from us.

Note: If you want confirmation of delivery on your shipments of item donations prior to receipt of our acknowledgment letter (allow up to 12 weeks), please use the tracking system provided by your shipper.

2. Dates to Ship:

a. Due to limited storage space, we prefer to accept Wish List items during these periods ONLY: March 15 to May 5 & September 15 to December 5.

b. We accept Letters, Paracord Bracelets and Financial Donation year round.

3. Shipping Address: NOTE: ALL ITEM DONATIONS SHIPPED TO ANY OTHER ADDRESS WILL BE RETURNED TO  SENDER — Send donated items, with this Donation Form (click to access) to:***

Operation Gratitude/California Army National Guard
17330 Victory Boulevard
Van Nuys, CA 91406
Attn: Rich Hernandez

***In order to receive an acknowledgment for donated items, you must include this Donation Form inside every carton. If sending more than one carton, a Donation Form must be included in each carton. Please indicate the total number of cartons being sent so we can be sure we have received all of them. Also — PLEASE NOTE: For our acknowledgment and “thank you” letter purposes, if the donation is a cooperative effort it is important that all donors be specific regarding who is donating items and who is donating postage costs.

4. Financial donations:

Online donations may be made by credit card using our secure server: Donate Now
If you are sending checks, please send separately from items/letters (to avoid losing them) with a note referencing the item/letter donation to:

Operation Gratitude
16444 Refugio Road
Encino, CA 91436

IMPORTANT: Do NOT send items or candy to this Encino address — they will not be accepted; SHIPMENTS WILL BE RETURNED TO SENDER.

5. In-person deliveries may be made during our Volunteer Hours of Operation as stated on the website.

6. Shipping Tips:

a. Use a durable, heavy-duty box and pack with appropriate weight for that box.

b. Not to exceed 50 lbs. per box, please.

c. To protect your item donations in the event of box damage during transit, we suggest you enclose the contents in a zip-lock or other sealable plastic bag.

d. Please use the most economical method from your location. You can check the websites of the various shippers (UPS, USPS, Fed-Ex, DHL) and get their respective prices based on weight and size of package. Some of these outlets are allowed to offer discounts, as they are owned as franchises.

e. You can try contacting local moving or freight companies – they may be willing to add your donation to their load for very little money (or for free) if they are heading this way anyway.

f. If funds for shipping are an issue, you can check with local Veterans’ groups and/or civic organizations (Rotary, Kiwanis, Lions) to see if any would partner with you to cover the shipping.

g. Thank you for understanding that Operation Gratitude cannot pay for shipping donations to our facility, as we need every penny of our funds to pay the cost of sending the care packages to the troops: $15/package.

h. For information about vehicle donations, please visit the Cars for U.S. Troops website. To donate used cell phones, please visit the GRC Wireless Recycling website.

i. For questions regarding delivery of Corporate Product Donations, please contact us via email rich.t.hernandez@att.net or by phone: 262-674-7281 (262-OPGRAT-1). For all other inquiries about Corporate Donations, please email carolyn@OperationGratitude.com.

j. Use of Donations: Operation Gratitude welcomes donations of all products in furtherance of its mission to support our Military. We reserve the right to determine the appropriate use of each donated item, including but not limited to inclusion in our care packages, donation to Military bases or other charities, and/or for fundraising or volunteer appreciation purposes.ase contact Rich Hernandez 

Have a question that wasn’t answered here? Please send an email to opgrat@gmail.com.