Santina Flynn is more than just the wife of her husband Steve, she is a loyal American citizen and a compassionate military mother. However, before 2007, Santina had never imagined that she would become the founder of a nonprofit organization called “Cookies for the Troops.”
When Santina’s son Justin was deployed to Iraq, she asked him a simple question that would change both of their lives. Did everyone in Justin’s unit receive care packages or letters by mail?
When Justin replied that many soldiers did not, Santina knew she had to do something about it. “It was in her nature,” 37-year-old Justin told The Epoch Times.
As Santina and her friends gathered to bake cookies and send essentials to Justin’s unit, “Cookies for the Troops” was born. Later that year, a shipment of gifts arrived in Iraq, filled with homemade cookies and toiletries that were hard to come by overseas.
In 2008, they mailed hundreds of cookies to other soldiers.
“As time went on, people started sending my mom their names and addresses so she could send them packages,” Justin said.
Soon after, they were shipping out dozens of packages and baking thousands of cookies. According to a video on the “Cookies for the Troops” page, year after year, Santina and her approximately eight friends baked cookies together, infusing each one with love and warmth.
Sadly, Santina passed away in 2019 after a five-year battle with breast cancer. Her children, Justin and his sister Taylor Dubord, were saddened by the loss. Justin believed he could honor his mother’s legacy by continuing “Cookies for the Troops.” He moved the baking operation to his home in Knowlton, New Jersey.
“We still have the same goal, same love, and same essentials, but the baking now happens in my home—where the original recipients are. The movement has come full circle, back to my mother’s home,” Justin said.
Typically, cookies are baked just one day a year: the second Saturday after Thanksgiving. Volunteers gather at Justin’s home to bake cookies and assist with cleanup afterwards. They have designated individuals for tasks like mixing dough, packaging, baking, cooling, and counting.
Labeling, packaging, and transportation occur after the cookies have cooled and been counted. According to a video on their Facebook page, “Cookies for the Troops” volunteers bake around 2,500 cookies in one day.
“My family and the other members of ‘Cookies for the Troops’ are probably like family at this point, always pushing this program forward,” Justin said. “Because in all of them, on baking day, I felt the true love my mother had for others and her selflessness, even though she’s not physically with us anymore.”
He mentioned that this unconditional love, combined with the warmth soldiers feel upon receiving the packages, brings him “a small piece of the happiness she experienced doing this, which means the world to me.”
If people want their loved ones in the military to receive cookies, they can simply visit the “Cookies for the Troops” Facebook page and provide names and addresses.
“We will do our best to ensure the cookies get into their hands,” Flynn said, although he noted that due to high demand, they may not reach everyone. “Cookies for the Troops” is continuously striving to meet the growing needs.
To support their mission, Flynn encourages people to follow “Cookies for the Troops” on social media and consider participating in “Box Sponsorship.” “Box Sponsorship helps us cover the costs of shopping, baking supplies, and purchasing the toiletries we send out,” he said. “Funding is the biggest obstacle in everything we do.”
While Santina may no longer be with us, her legacy lives on—whether it’s in her son’s kitchen in Knowlton, New Jersey, or far away. Seeing photos posted by recipients abroad with their units and cookies, Justin’s heart is warmed.
“I personally see how much of an impact this has on morale,” Justin said. “My mom saw that too, and I believe that’s why this became her legacy.”