No, Operation Gratitude is not closing. We’re transitioning to a new community-powered model that will allow us to expand our reach and impact. Instead of operating from a single warehouse, we’ll be empowering communities nationwide to create their own meaningful expressions of gratitude for Service Members, Veterans, and First Responders.

Care packages remain a meaningful way to say thank you—we’re just changing how they’re created. Instead of assembly at our California facility, we’re empowering communities nationwide to create their own care package projects for local Service Members, Veterans, and First Responders.

Our Community Engagement Resource Hub, launching in 2026, will provide the tools and guidance to organize care package projects, letter-writing campaigns, or any other meaningful expressions of gratitude in your community.

We are transitioning away from a centralized warehouse model and into a new, community-powered future where volunteers, local leaders, and generous donors like you will bring our mission to life in towns and cities across the country.

Here’s what won’t change: our mission to say thank you to those who serve. If anything, this next chapter lets us fulfill that mission more personally, more directly, and on a much larger scale.

With your support, we will be able to: equip individuals and groups with the tools they need to organize local gratitude projects, launch our Grassroots Grantmaking Program to fund community-led appreciation efforts, and share powerful stories that honor service and inspire connection through our Storytelling and Legacy Keeper Initiative.

You helped build this moment. Now we’re inviting you to help grow it. With your continued generosity, we can bring the spirit of Operation Gratitude to every zip code in the country.

Absolutely not. Operation Gratitude is financially strong and here to stay. This change is not a response to financial instability – it’s a strategic decision to ensure the long-term, sustainability and growth of our mission.

For years, volunteers across the country have asked how they can do what we do in California in their own communities. This transition is our answer. As our warehouse lease ends in 2026, we’re seizing this moment to shift from a centralized model to a nationwide, community-centric approach – one that allows us to engage more volunteers, steward donor dollars more effectively, and reach more of those who serve.

We’re not winding down – we’re expanding the mission and empowering more people to say “thank you” in meaningful, local ways.

Absolutely not.  Operation Gratitude is financially strong and here to stay.

How the new model works

Instead of traveling to a central warehouse in California, volunteers will be able to:

• Join local care package assembly events in cities nationwide
• Support Veterans and First Responders through hands-on projects and/or in-person deliveries
• Write letters of appreciation and send encouragement from anywhere
• Organize community-led initiatives with guidance from our online hub

Cities and regions where you can get involved

Through the Community Engagement Resource Hub, you’ll be able to find opportunities in locations like:

• Dallas, Texas – local volunteer projects for Service Members and First Responders
• Connecticut – community-led care package and letter-writing campaigns
• San Diego, California – events and projects supporting deployed troops and Veterans
• And many more locations nationwide

No matter where you live, you’ll be able to connect to meaningful ways of giving back.

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