Operation Gratitude distributes gift packages to NYPD officers at Brooklyn's 83rd Precinct

Police officers at the NYPD 83rd Precinct in Brooklyn received a special surprise Monday.
Packages filled with an assortment of small gifts and a handwritten letter were given to each of the officers thanks to "Operation Gratitude," which was founded by Carolyn Blashek.
"It's really to say thank you to all the men and women of our country who serve, defend us and risk their lives every day," Blashek explained.
In the last 18 years, Operation Gratitude has delivered 3.2 million care packages to troops, veterans and first responders.
This past January, it teamed up with the NYPD's Health and Wellness Unit.
"In regards to what you see out in the street, what you face every day, there is a tremendous amount of people in the city of New York and around the country who support what we do and truly care, and this a reminder to tell our officers, 'You know what? People do care what you do,'" said NYPD's Health and Wellness Unit Deputy Inspector Mark Wachter.
"From the protests, to coronavirus, everything we went through in the past two years, basically. To somebody to think of us and just show up and just this gratitude, it means the world to a lot of us officers," said 83rd Precinct Officer Hamlet DeLeon.
Providing that feeling of gratitude is exactly why CEO Kevin Schmiegel said they do this.
"As someone who served in the military for 20 years, I didn't fully understand or comprehend what our police firefighters and EMTs do on a day-to-day basis," Schmiegel said. "They go away from their families every day not knowing if they'll make it home that night."
Operation Gratitude distributed the care packages to every precinct across Brooklyn North. Its goal is to get packages into the hands of every single NYPD officer by Sept. 11.
For more information, you can visit Operation Gratitude at their website.