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Jeweler knows beans about giving to soldiers
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By Arlene Fine
Senior Staff Reporter
Last year when Barry Siegler, owner of Lee Jewelers in Mayfield Heights, learned that Dana Dennis, one of his employee’s sons, could not get a good cup of coffee while stationed in Afghanistan, he began to do a slow boil.
“Here was a kid serving his third duty overseas, and he couldn’t even enjoy a simple cup of robust coffee,” says Siegler. Using chutzpah and his myriad connections, Siegler launched a “Coffee Break for the Troops” campaign. His goal was to send first-class coffee to deployed soldiers in Dennis’s 82nd Airborne Unit.
After calling his friends for donations, Siegler contacted Gary Stromberg, then a reporter with Channel 8, and asked him to air a special about “Coffee Break for the Troops.”
“The response was overwhelming,” raves Siegler. “We were given donations of coffee and money.” Starbucks donated 600 pounds of beans, McDonald’s provided another 420 pounds, and Parker Hannifin and Deloitte & Touche donated funds to cover postage.
Siegler and the staff at his Eastgate store packaged the coffee and sent it to APO addresses of coffee-loving soldiers overseas.
Based on his coffee success, Siegler now sends other items to soldiers. Using his own and donated funds from customers, friends, private donors and people with family members overseas, he piles Costco shopping carts to the max with beef jerky, Oreo cookies, energy bars, potato chips and pretzels. He sends generous packages of these items to soldiers who have given him their APO addresses.
“Because of security reasons, I can’t just randomly send packages to a unit; I have to address the gifts to a specific soldier,” explains Siegler. “Right now my biggest challenge is getting the names of new soldiers because many on my original list have rotated out.”
Siegler doesn’t stop with a cup of java. He has also donated hundreds of Beanie Babies to a pediatric unit in a hospital in Iraq. This October he donated $300 to Mothers of Military (MOM) for a Halloween party for children whose mother or father has been deployed.
A member of Shir Shalom in Bainbridge, Siegler has a huge scrapbook overflowing with thank-you letters from grateful soldiers and their families. Recently, a group of soldiers whose lives he touched presented him with an American flag that had flown over a U.S. base in Afghanistan. The flag is prominently displayed on a wall at Lee Jewelers.
“We must never forget our troops, whether we are for or against the war,” insists Siegler. “We are not making a political statement with our gifts. We just want to bring some comfort food to our soldiers who are on the front line.”
Donations of toiletries, snacks, coffee and money can be dropped off at Lee Jewelers at 1439 SOM Center Road. Make checks payable to “Coffee Break for the Troops.” 440-442-8787.
afine@cjn.org
“Here was a kid serving his third duty overseas, and he couldn’t even enjoy a simple cup of robust coffee,” says Siegler. Using chutzpah and his myriad connections, Siegler launched a “Coffee Break for the Troops” campaign. His goal was to send first-class coffee to deployed soldiers in Dennis’s 82nd Airborne Unit.
After calling his friends for donations, Siegler contacted Gary Stromberg, then a reporter with Channel 8, and asked him to air a special about “Coffee Break for the Troops.”
“The response was overwhelming,” raves Siegler. “We were given donations of coffee and money.” Starbucks donated 600 pounds of beans, McDonald’s provided another 420 pounds, and Parker Hannifin and Deloitte & Touche donated funds to cover postage.
Siegler and the staff at his Eastgate store packaged the coffee and sent it to APO addresses of coffee-loving soldiers overseas.
Based on his coffee success, Siegler now sends other items to soldiers. Using his own and donated funds from customers, friends, private donors and people with family members overseas, he piles Costco shopping carts to the max with beef jerky, Oreo cookies, energy bars, potato chips and pretzels. He sends generous packages of these items to soldiers who have given him their APO addresses.
“Because of security reasons, I can’t just randomly send packages to a unit; I have to address the gifts to a specific soldier,” explains Siegler. “Right now my biggest challenge is getting the names of new soldiers because many on my original list have rotated out.”
Siegler doesn’t stop with a cup of java. He has also donated hundreds of Beanie Babies to a pediatric unit in a hospital in Iraq. This October he donated $300 to Mothers of Military (MOM) for a Halloween party for children whose mother or father has been deployed.
A member of Shir Shalom in Bainbridge, Siegler has a huge scrapbook overflowing with thank-you letters from grateful soldiers and their families. Recently, a group of soldiers whose lives he touched presented him with an American flag that had flown over a U.S. base in Afghanistan. The flag is prominently displayed on a wall at Lee Jewelers.
“We must never forget our troops, whether we are for or against the war,” insists Siegler. “We are not making a political statement with our gifts. We just want to bring some comfort food to our soldiers who are on the front line.”
Donations of toiletries, snacks, coffee and money can be dropped off at Lee Jewelers at 1439 SOM Center Road. Make checks payable to “Coffee Break for the Troops.” 440-442-8787.
afine@cjn.org
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