We were introduced to this story and thought you should know about it. This 11 year old boy who started something amazing is now turning 18 in a few days. His mom has a favor to ask.
Here is a little back story on Kahne and why he started “Kahne’s Kare Packages”:
On Oct. 7, 2016, our lives changed in an instant. My little brother, Derek, Kahne’s Uncle, passed away unexpectedly in his sleep, he was only 31 years old. He not only was Kahne’s Uncle, but he was his best friend. His nickname for him was “Uncle Dude”, and anytime we went somewhere that he could invite someone, along with his friends, he ALWAYS invited “Uncle Dude”.
When my brother passed, it devastated all of us, but Kahne the most, as it was the first time he had lost a loved one, and was old enough to understand what death was. We lost my oldest brother Dan in 2010 at 37 years old, but at that time, Kahne was 4 and didn’t really grasp what had happened.
Watching Kahne deal with emotions he never experienced before and learning to deal with missing his Uncle, was the hardest thing as a parent to watch and know there was nothing I could do to make it go away. So, to try and help him cope, I reached out to a friend of ours, who’s husband is in the military, and he reached out to one of his friends in Afghanistan and got Kahne a pen pal. We will never replace ‘Uncle Dude”, but having a pen pal has helped him cope with missing him and start healing in the process. Chad, Kahne’s pen pal, has been amazing to Kahne, and in the process of writing back and forth, Kahne is learning about the Military and what they do.
He didn’t realize that during the holidays, the soldiers stay in Afghanistan, and don’t get to go home to their families, and that devastated him. Kahne didn’t skip a beat and ask what we could do to help them have the best holiday we could. Dec 2017, for the first time, Kahne reached out to friends and family for donations, and we sent care packages over to his pen pal and the platoon overseas, and they LOVED them!!
2017 - 40 soldiers got care packages
2018 - 100 soldiers and 10 - K9 working dogs and their handlers got care packages.
2019 - 77 Soldiers and 10-K9 working dogs and their handlers got care packages.
2020 - 228 servicemembers and 8-K9 Working Dog Teams and their handlers got care packages.
2021 - 230 servicemembers and 4-K9 working dog teams and their handlers got care packages.
2022 - 220 servicemembers and 4-K9 working dog teams and their handlers got care packages.
MESSAGE FROM HIS MOM: "Hi there! I am hoping you can help me with something?""
Our son Kahne, from Kahne's Kare Packages is the young man from Rainier, that has been sending care packages overseas to our deployed servicemembers for the holidays for the last 7 years. He is turning 18 on Dec 15th, and I would LOVE for our mail box to be overflowing with Birthday love and cards for his birthday!"
Here is our address if anyone would like to send a birthday card:
Kahne Loftus
411 Volesky DR SE
Rainier, WA 98576
She contacted us here at DiscoverJBLM.com and all she asked for was a birthday card! We had to share this story and we hope you could take a moment and send him a birthday card from wherever you are. Much appreciated.
I did some digging and found he has a donation page if you want to help him as well. CLICK HERE
In the news:
Congresswoman Marilyn Strickland, D-Washington, announced her “constituent spotlight” last week as she recognized Kahne Loftus, a 17-year-old teen from Rainier.
Loftus was recognized for his “Kahne’s Kare Packages” project, which sends care packages to U.S. troops overseas. READ MORE
You can join his Facebook group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/274587843096732