Glass Doctor Employee Starts Pillow Case Collection for Wounded Soldiers

Jeannine Beasley, an employee at Glass Doctor of Central Carolina in Dunn, N.C., has started Operation Pillow Talk, a community effort to collect pillowcases for wounded U.S. soldiers in Kuwait.

Last Christmas, Beasley asked fellow church member and U.S. service member Rhonda Henderson, who was serving in Kuwait, what she could send to help troops. Henderson told her that the hospitals in Kuwait were stocked with sheets and blankets, but no pillowcases. So Beasley started collecting pillowcases with inspirational bible verses and quotes written by children and adults on them.

 “If I had my head on a pillowcase with all these uplifting words from communities back home, I’d feel inspired,” Beasley says.

Operation Pillow Talk started in Beasley’s own church, but she took it to her boss, Glass Doctor franchise owner and veteran Jim Johnson, who encouraged her to bring pillowcases to customers and use the shop as a drop-off point.

“I thought it was such a great idea that I offered to pay shipping on the pillowcases collected at our office,” Johnson says.

Local businesses also offered to serve as drop-off points and paid for shipping the items collected at their business.

One of the best parts of Operation Pillow Talk, Beasley says, is that it’s a cost-efficient way to help soldiers, with two-pack pillowcases being sold for less than $5. “It’s a small price with a big impact,” she says.

To donate, call Beasley at 910/892-0441. Donations also can be dropped off at the shop, 1209 North Ellis Ave.

“It’s something we’re hoping will spread state-to-state,” Beasley says. “I want it to go global. I want the soldiers to have pillow cases from every state in the U.S.”