It was 1970 and Roger Chapin, founder of an organization which had sent 600,000 Gift Pacs to G.I.s in Vietnam, was visiting wounded Marines at the Balboa Naval Hospital in San Diego. Because time seemed to weigh very heavily on these men, Roger asked if there was anything he could do for them. One marine replied “give me something to do with my hands.” Another told Roger that the seemingly endless hours of recuperation were often harder to take than combat itself.

After many surveys and discussions with numerous hospital staff members and patients alike, Help Hospitalized Veterans was born - and the first Arts and Crafts Kits were delivered. And as Roger put it, “as soon as we saw all the smiling faces when the first Kits were handed out, we knew we had a winner.” All that remained was to see if the American people would respond as generously and caringly as they did to Roger’s Vietnam Gift Pac. The first mail appeal was a stunning success and some of the same wonderful donors are still giving today - some 23 million Craft Kits later!