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Over 800 military holiday care packages returned by USPS: 'Disgraceful'
Kristen Gauvin, president of Boxes to Boots, is pleading for help from Washington, D.C. after over 800 holiday care packages for U.S. troops overseas were returned by USPS after failing to pass through customs.
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!A nonprofit claims the U.S. Postal Service mishandled its shipment of hundreds of care packages for American service members and is now calling on President Donald Trump to step in.
"I'm really hoping that President Trump can perform a Christmas miracle for us and get these boxes to our troops for Christmas because if we send them U.S. postal mail, they'll never get there," Kristen Gauvin, president of Boxes to Boots, said on "Fox & Friends First" Wednesday.
The organization sends essential packages to deployed troops who can’t be home for the holidays. They include necessary toiletries, snacks and other small comforts meant to lift their spirits.
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The nonprofit Boxes to Boots has asked President Donald Trump for assistance after the USPS returned more than 800 Christmas packages intended for deployed troops. (Tashi-Delek/iStock)
But this year, Gauvin says the group has run into a major shipping problem.
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Boxes to Boots mailed its packages in mid-November, yet more than 800 of its 1,100 boxes were unexpectedly returned, with more than 100 missing entirely. USPS flagged the packages for insufficient customs descriptions.?
"We are currently investigating why these packages were returned. When customs forms are incomplete or lack the detail needed to meet export compliance requirements, packages may be returned," USPS said in a statement to "Fox & Friends First."
President Donald Trump takes the stage during a rally with U.S. Army troops at Fort Bragg, N.C., on June 10. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Gauvin says the organization has never experienced anything like this before and has heard from other groups reporting similar issues. She also noted that roughly 300 identical packages went through without a problem.
"Every single one of these boxes had my name and phone number on the return information… Someone could have [taken] the extra minute to call me and say, ‘Hey, we have a huge problem here. Let me tell you what it is,’" she said.
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Gauvin, who has led Boxes to Boots for several years, said she or volunteers would have driven anywhere necessary to correct the labeling if that was the issue.
First lady Melania Trump talks with members of the military after helping assemble care packages for deployed service members during an American Red Cross holiday event with military families at Joint Base Andrews, Md., on Dec. 1. (Aul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)
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"Clearly these boxes are all marked with military addresses. So, I would think people, if anything, would bend over backwards for our troops. This is just disgusting," Gauvin said.
Boxes to Boots is urging federal officials to step in to ensure the packages reach troops before the holidays, specifically calling on President Trump and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth to help. The group warns the boxes could miss the holiday season and arrive in mid-January if the issue is not resolved soon.