Morale Mail is back at North Side PMFRC

A package or letter from family or friends never fails to remind a deployed member that they are loved, boosting their spirits even when they are halfway around the world.

This is why the importance of Morale Mail cannot be understated; it can act as a bridge between their current reality and home.

That important link - the free delivery of packages and letter mail - has been restored by the Petawawa Military Family Resource Centre (PMFRC). Pre-wrapped and addressed parcels can now be dropped off at their North Side location on Regalbuto Avenue.

During the first wave of the pandemic, this service stopped when the PMFRC closed their physical locations. Despite understanding the risks, families were anxious to see Morale Mail return.

“We worked with the base to figure out the best way to mitigate the concerns and give the families the opportunity to drop off the mail again,” said Claudia Beswick, PMFRC Executive Director.

By limiting the parcels to one location and by requiring them to be wrapped with the address and customs information on it, she believes they will be safe for staff to handle.

“It helps the families stay connected to each other by mailing them their favourite things or by mailing things that they need,” said Beswick, adding it also helps the family when they create these care packages.

The deadline to drop off packages is on the Thursday of each week by 3:30 p.m.

The PMFRC staff is learning as they go on how to meet the needs of military families while adhering to the governmental health and safety guidelines.

Most, if not all, of their programs have now gone virtual. As restrictions are lifted, they will be returning their services to their usual means one by one.

“Our focus has always been to talking to families and finding out what barriers they have and then to address them,” said Julie Hollinger, PMFRC Programs Manager.

Regardless, the safety of staff and the families will remain their primary goal.

“We are trying to meet their needs,” said Beswick. “Something that would have been important in January is maybe not a priority right now.”

There are some positive things to going virtual, however. People from all across the nation can now join in on programs including deployment readiness and their programs for children with exceptional needs.

“I think a lot of people focus on the drawbacks of virtual, but what I think it does is that it allows people from across the country to register,” said Hollinger.

Their focus at the moment remains on deployment services as several contingents of Canadian Armed Forces personnel have recently been sent overseas. As the situation progresses, what they can offer will be altered to be better serve the military community.

To keep people abreast of any changes, the PMFRC is holding fireside chats every Wednesday at 11 a.m. on their Facebook page. This allows them to let families know what is available at the PMFRC, as well as through their partnering organizations.

Though many services such as Morale Mail have been restored, things aren’t quite back to normal.

The PMFRC, however, is grateful that the community has remained patient and kind with their staff as they navigate this new reality.

Beswick acknowledges there is a lot of stress for families and is so pleased to see everyone come together.

“They’ve been with us throughout, and we are just so thankful for that,” she said, adding she is also thankful for all the collaborations with their base partners.