Charity Groups Aid Military Families for Holidays

State charity groups are ramping up efforts to help the troops this holiday season. Thanksgiving begins a time when many people say thank you to military personnel by giving help and holiday cheer. Operation Homefront Carolinas in Charlotte helps by easing financial burdens for military families. Jane Weaver-Sobel is executive director.

Jane Weaver-Sobel: "They skype..they email..they talk to each other. They know when there's a stress at home and we don't want these guys to worry about it so we'll take care of the family while they do their mission and get home."

Emily Everett of the American Red Cross says her organization is using something as simple as a Christmas card to spread cheer.

Emily Everett: "What we do is turn around and distribute those out to all of the military personnel and their veterans so we're planning on sending out 25-thousand of those cards."

Organizations are collecting decorations and products that remind troops of their North Carolina home to make deployment during the holidays more bearable.