United for the Troops needs help finding a new home 

United for the Troops (UFT), the local charity that sends care packages to American soldiers overseas, is looking for a new home. 

After nearly 20 years at 34 Gleneida Avenue in Carmel Hamlet, a property owned by Putnam County, the organization finds itself having to move and is turning to the public for help. 

Jim Rathschmidt, co-founder of UFT, told Mahopac News that the County Legislature has decided to "move in another direction" and is looking to repurpose the old building and may possibly consider demolishing it and creating a green space, a park dedicated to veterans. 

Thus, Rathschmidt says, the charity needs the public's help finding a new location. 

The idea for UFT came in 2007 when Rathschmidt's and his late wife Patty's son Luke was deployed overseas in Iraq. They sent him a package of needed items such as socks and toiletries and, of course, some snacks. But Luke reported that many of his fellow soldiers had no family at home to send them care packages, and he felt guilty about receiving them. 

United for the Troops became an organization within weeks, collecting anything and everything from any source possible to send to the troops. In the last 20 years, UFT has shipped more than 40,000 care packages worldwide, all accomplished by a staff of volunteers. 

"We are very grateful to Putnam County; it was a great 10 years," Rathschmidt said. "But it is time for that building to go in a different direction. We are not getting 'kicked out.' They have had it up for sale for many years. They may just level it and make a little veterans park." 

Rathschmidt said the group has until November to find a new space. 

"The furnace there isn't working," he said, noting there are no plans to fix or replace it, so they must be gone before the cold weather settles in. 

Rathschmidt said they need about 2,000 square feet to run the program and would like to remain in the Carmel/Mahopac/Putnam County area. 

"We have always had a lot of support here," he said. "It is all a matter of money. When the money comes in, the boxes go out. We have had no expenses, and that is why we are now up to 40,000 boxes [shipped]." 

He said the charity is still going strong and recently brought another 50 boxes to the post office. 

Rathschmidt said recent regulations have made shipping packages overseas more challenging, and they are trying their best to make sure the packages get to where they are going, especially to some of the ships that are currently deployed. 

"We work with a company that can track our packages and so far, most of them are getting through," he said. "Some post offices overseas are holding them. It is a sticky operation. They are so specific on what we can send and the weight, and we are lucky we haven't had any sent back. It has been difficult getting supplies to the ships, and we are hoping [the packages] got to them. It could take as much as a month. That's a long time." 

Rathschmidt said he is hoping the community will come through "like they have for the past 20 years" and help UFT find a space. 

You can reach Rathschmidt by calling or texting 845-729-4239 or emailing unitedforthetroops@gmail.com