Our History...
Since 2001, we have: (updated August 2026)
Volunteers of Operation Help a Hero and founders have been supporting Camp Pendleton Marines and Sailors since 2001. We did so BEFORE there were adoptive cities, BEFORE most military supporting organizations were created to support our military and their families, and we CREATED the projects we have in place based on needs we saw in the military community.
We will CONTINUE to serve those who serve our country at home and abroad -- whether our country is at war OR NOT. We do not require our service members to be in a combat zone to know that their sacrifices are real no matter were they are sent to serve our country. We know they need to be prepared for anything when they train and deploy, and we need to be prepared to support them no matter what their deployment looks like.
- Welcomed home over 115,865 Marines, Soldiers and Sailors from deployment through our Operation Rack Pack program
- Celebrated and pampered over 2,820 new and expecting mommies through our OHH Baby! showers
- Served over 5,595 families in need of our support, over 35,516 single service members and 42,735+ children through our Operation Christmas Spirit program, Christmas goody bags, Christmas gift boxes, stockings and Christmas parties
- Pampered over 400 ladies with spa services, dinners and more through our Comfort for the Caregiver Program
- Celebrated 6,512 children of the deployed through camp joy or babysitting assistance
- Assisted over 5,312 families in crisis through our Operation Enduring Support program to to include responses to multiple hurricanes damaging bases in NC and FL, and help for families evacuated from fifires in CO and CA. In addition, we helped many families of the injured and fallen through this program over the years.
- Sent off surprise packages to over 1,500 children with personally recorded book readings and messages from their recently deployed parents through Operation Bedtime Stories
- Coordinated countless numbers of community relation projects, to include school visits, a paintball tournament, jog-a-thons, parades, welcome home festivities, carnivals and more
- Coordinated over 3,000 pen pals with deployed service members
- Hosted many holiday, unit and seasonal events for Camp Pendleton, Quantico, Fort Bragg, Camp Lejeune, MCAS Yuma, Fort Sam Houston, Andrews AFB, 29 Palms, MCAS Miramar, Fort Belvoir, Peterson AFB, Naval Base San Diego, Fort Carson, SOCOM, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Fort Drum, Joint Base MacDill, Fort Hood, Lackland AFB and Buckley AFB Units, and more!
Volunteers of Operation Help a Hero and founders have been supporting Camp Pendleton Marines and Sailors since 2001. We did so BEFORE there were adoptive cities, BEFORE most military supporting organizations were created to support our military and their families, and we CREATED the projects we have in place based on needs we saw in the military community.
We will CONTINUE to serve those who serve our country at home and abroad -- whether our country is at war OR NOT. We do not require our service members to be in a combat zone to know that their sacrifices are real no matter were they are sent to serve our country. We know they need to be prepared for anything when they train and deploy, and we need to be prepared to support them no matter what their deployment looks like.
Operation Help A Hero began as a grass roots effort in early 2001 with our Founder, Cindy Farnum leading the charge as a family readiness leader on Camp Pendleton. The very first events were hosted with love by military spouses, parents, and kids to take care of their own. Efforts started with a unit baby shower, regiment wide carnival, seasonal events and family day support. Later in 2001, after the attacks of 9/11, Cindy began a Marine Ministries/ Pen Pal group at the California based school where she taught (St. Johns of RSM). Her middle school students welcomed local Marines from First Battalion, Fifth Marines (1/5) to the school for a Veteran's Day celebration and created a relationship that lasted with the unit for the next 10 years.
By the end of December 2002, 1/5 (along with Cindy's husband) deployed to Kuwait and eventually led the push across the border into Iraq starting Operation Iraqi Freedom I. During this deployment, St. Johns students and families wrote and sent care packages to over 1,300 Marines in and attached to 1/5. The group also supported and collected items for 1/5's injured during the deployment and assisted in welcome home festivities (to include the barracks project pictured above) for the battalion, coordinating with the unit's Key Volunteers. The support of St. Johns was even mentioned in Chaplain Carey Cash's book A Table in the Presence. By the spring of 2003, Cindy's volunteer network on base worked through the very first barracks project on Camp Pendleton for those same 1,300 Marines and Sailors (pictured above). Cindy, because of the whole community's response to these efforts, was recognized in 2003 by California Governor Gray Davis for her efforts in support of local Marines, Sailors and families of the fallen.
The following year, in early 2004, St. John's Marine Ministries and Pen Pal Group continued its relationship with 1/5 as they deployed yet another time to Iraq -- this time Fallujah. Cindy started efforts to support 3/5 and all of 5th Marines. Students and families continued to write letters, send care packages and support the Marines' families locally on the school front. When 1/5 and 29 Palm units lost many in during "Operation Vigilant Resolve", we were able to collect $5,000 for every child of a fallen Marine in 1/5 AND four children who lost their father with 2/7 (out of 29 Palms). We began to host regular family events for Camp Pendleton units, whose hands are often tied when donations are needed. These events included help at Christmas parties, our first Operation Christmas Spirit, babysitting for unit events, fall festivals, a Spring Carnival at Lake O'Neil, a barracks project for 1/5's single Marines and throwing welcome home parties for returning units. This was also the year we began hosting baby showers for deployed units (rather than when home in dwell time).
In 2004, we began what would become an annual drive -- Operation Christmas Spirit. Started by our beloved Christy Wrightson through the PTA at St. Johns and coordinated with Cindy, this drive collected toys, gifts, gift cards and cash donations to thank our local Marines and Sailors and fulfill their holiday wish lists. From 2004-2007 Operation Christmas Spirit collected truckloads of Christmas items given to deployed units, ipods for Wounded Warriors and Balboa Hospital's Wounded in Action patients, and tons of items used at various Camp Pendleton Christmas parties all through St. Johns. This school wide effort would grow beyond St. Johns into our nationwide program serving all branches of service today.
With 5 years of service through the programs above, in 2007, we decided we wanted to share our mission of fostering learning through our newest project: Operation Bedtime Story. We video recorded Marines reading children's books for their children and/or wives. The videos were carefully burned to DVDs and shipped out to families as a nice surprise. Each video also came with the book read in the recording and a box of chocolates for the parent on the homefront. Our guinea pigs were 1st CEB and 3/5, and the results were great!
Since our efforts began in 2001 and solidified in 2002-- the requests from Camp Pendleton units grew every year, and with the demand, community involvement grew, too. In December of 2009, we became a 501 (c) (3) non-profit charity. We spent years helping local military families with amazing volunteers and donors who gave out of the goodness of their hearts, but we realized that an official non-profit status would help us continue to support local families and be able to give (tax exemption for donations) in return.
In the past 25 years, Operation Help A Hero volunteers/leaders have grown to serve all units aboard Camp Pendleton, MCAS Yuma, 29 Palms, MCAS Miramar, Camp Lejeune, Quantico, Fort Belvoir, Fort Hood, Fort Carson, Fort Drum, Joint Base McDill, Fort Bragg (now Liberty), Hawaii, the Wounded Warrior House (now regiment), The White House Signal Corps, the barracks at 8th &I, Fort Campbell, Balboa Naval Hospital, Naval Base San Diego, Bridgeport, Andrews AFB, Fort Sam Houston, Joint Base Lewis-McCord, Peterson AFB, Buckley, Nellis and many more units through family aide. Today our Operation Christmas Spirit and Operation Enduring Support programs help military families nation-wide.
Our organization has grown beyond the grassroots ministry started in 2001 and now works with groups across the country to bring peace to our American patriots in uniform thanks to people like you! We ARE still a "mom and pop" small all volunteer organization at heart in that we operate locally to ensure that every dollar or good donated goes to the men and women we serve, but make no mistake-- our projects and efforts are huge! We are small but MIGHTY!
By the end of December 2002, 1/5 (along with Cindy's husband) deployed to Kuwait and eventually led the push across the border into Iraq starting Operation Iraqi Freedom I. During this deployment, St. Johns students and families wrote and sent care packages to over 1,300 Marines in and attached to 1/5. The group also supported and collected items for 1/5's injured during the deployment and assisted in welcome home festivities (to include the barracks project pictured above) for the battalion, coordinating with the unit's Key Volunteers. The support of St. Johns was even mentioned in Chaplain Carey Cash's book A Table in the Presence. By the spring of 2003, Cindy's volunteer network on base worked through the very first barracks project on Camp Pendleton for those same 1,300 Marines and Sailors (pictured above). Cindy, because of the whole community's response to these efforts, was recognized in 2003 by California Governor Gray Davis for her efforts in support of local Marines, Sailors and families of the fallen.
The following year, in early 2004, St. John's Marine Ministries and Pen Pal Group continued its relationship with 1/5 as they deployed yet another time to Iraq -- this time Fallujah. Cindy started efforts to support 3/5 and all of 5th Marines. Students and families continued to write letters, send care packages and support the Marines' families locally on the school front. When 1/5 and 29 Palm units lost many in during "Operation Vigilant Resolve", we were able to collect $5,000 for every child of a fallen Marine in 1/5 AND four children who lost their father with 2/7 (out of 29 Palms). We began to host regular family events for Camp Pendleton units, whose hands are often tied when donations are needed. These events included help at Christmas parties, our first Operation Christmas Spirit, babysitting for unit events, fall festivals, a Spring Carnival at Lake O'Neil, a barracks project for 1/5's single Marines and throwing welcome home parties for returning units. This was also the year we began hosting baby showers for deployed units (rather than when home in dwell time).
In 2004, we began what would become an annual drive -- Operation Christmas Spirit. Started by our beloved Christy Wrightson through the PTA at St. Johns and coordinated with Cindy, this drive collected toys, gifts, gift cards and cash donations to thank our local Marines and Sailors and fulfill their holiday wish lists. From 2004-2007 Operation Christmas Spirit collected truckloads of Christmas items given to deployed units, ipods for Wounded Warriors and Balboa Hospital's Wounded in Action patients, and tons of items used at various Camp Pendleton Christmas parties all through St. Johns. This school wide effort would grow beyond St. Johns into our nationwide program serving all branches of service today.
With 5 years of service through the programs above, in 2007, we decided we wanted to share our mission of fostering learning through our newest project: Operation Bedtime Story. We video recorded Marines reading children's books for their children and/or wives. The videos were carefully burned to DVDs and shipped out to families as a nice surprise. Each video also came with the book read in the recording and a box of chocolates for the parent on the homefront. Our guinea pigs were 1st CEB and 3/5, and the results were great!
Since our efforts began in 2001 and solidified in 2002-- the requests from Camp Pendleton units grew every year, and with the demand, community involvement grew, too. In December of 2009, we became a 501 (c) (3) non-profit charity. We spent years helping local military families with amazing volunteers and donors who gave out of the goodness of their hearts, but we realized that an official non-profit status would help us continue to support local families and be able to give (tax exemption for donations) in return.
In the past 25 years, Operation Help A Hero volunteers/leaders have grown to serve all units aboard Camp Pendleton, MCAS Yuma, 29 Palms, MCAS Miramar, Camp Lejeune, Quantico, Fort Belvoir, Fort Hood, Fort Carson, Fort Drum, Joint Base McDill, Fort Bragg (now Liberty), Hawaii, the Wounded Warrior House (now regiment), The White House Signal Corps, the barracks at 8th &I, Fort Campbell, Balboa Naval Hospital, Naval Base San Diego, Bridgeport, Andrews AFB, Fort Sam Houston, Joint Base Lewis-McCord, Peterson AFB, Buckley, Nellis and many more units through family aide. Today our Operation Christmas Spirit and Operation Enduring Support programs help military families nation-wide.
Our organization has grown beyond the grassroots ministry started in 2001 and now works with groups across the country to bring peace to our American patriots in uniform thanks to people like you! We ARE still a "mom and pop" small all volunteer organization at heart in that we operate locally to ensure that every dollar or good donated goes to the men and women we serve, but make no mistake-- our projects and efforts are huge! We are small but MIGHTY!