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The University of New Mexico Press is doing its part to support troops away from home this holiday season by donating more than 300 books to Operation Gratitude, a campaign to send care packages to American troops stationed overseas.

UNM Employee Wellness runs the annual, on-campus collection drive to gather candy, toiletries, games and similar items for Blue Star Mothers of America, an organization that sends the gifts to members of the United States Armed Forces.

This year, UNM Press contributed 18 cartons of overstocked books – mostly novels, memoirs and collections of short stories or poetry – to the cause. Susan Coatney, who manages the Press’s warehouse, suggested the idea to her colleagues after receiving a campus email about the donation drive.

“When I saw Operation Gratitude, I thought what a great way to support our troops with a gift of books. Our whole team got together and found around three hundred books,” she says. “Thank you to all the women and men who serve.”

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