BEAUFORT, S.C. — Harris Pillow Supply, manufacturer of the Pillow-Vac pillow-renovating machine, has started the Pillows for Patriots program to provide U.S. soldiers serving overseas in Iraq and Afghanistan with soft, comfortable pillows.
John Harris, president of Harris Pillow Supply, launched the program after Barb Farrior, the mother of an Army captain, came to the company wanting to buy filling to make pillows for her son and his unit. Getting ready for his third deployment in Afghanistan, her son would often comment that sleeping is difficult because they have to use rolled-up clothing as pillows.
After explaining the situation to Harris, he offered to make and donate the 250 pillows. Ever since, Harris has been making additional pillows at cost as part of the Pillows for Patriots program, launched within 48 hours of the initial phone call when more concerned parents and friends of deployed soldiers were discovered. More than 3,000 pillows have been donated and shipped to soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan, and more ship every week.
“We will continue to participate as long as we can,” says Patrick Harris, vice president of Harris Pillow Supply. “It is the least we can do. We are honored to do a small thing for those guys who sacrifice so much. The pillows are small enough to fit in a backpack, and we vacuum-pack them for ease of shipping.”
To learn more about Pillows for Patriots or donate to the program, contact Farrior at 843-525-9262 or e-mail [email protected], or contact Jenny Bush at 843-525-6578 or e-mail [email protected]. Pillows for Patriots isn’t a registered charity, so all donations go directly toward making and shipping pillows to troops.
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