Troopons volunteers clip, sort and send thousands of dollars in coupons for servicemen and women around the world

It was the day after Christmas, but holiday fatigue didn’t deter the half-dozen dedicated coupon clippers gathered at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Spokane Valley.

These folks don’t meet to save money on their grocery bills. They clip coupons for a cause.

Each month the group sends several boxes of carefully sorted and labeled coupons to Troopons – a program administered by the nonprofit organization Support Our Troops. The coupons are then distributed to overseas and domestic military bases, where military families can pick them up and use them at their commissary or PX.

“It’s important for the military, and we enjoy the camaraderie,” said Barb Flower. “We get excited when we see the numbers adding up.”

In November, those numbers totaled a whopping $149,612.52. That’s a lot of savings to pass on to those serving our country.

The group was founded by Sandy Weiss-Plass.

She read about Troopons in an advice column in the newspaper in November 2016, and decided to send some coupons.

“That first month I clipped over $800 worth of coupons,” she said.

She knew she could send a lot more coupons with a little more help.

“I mentioned it to the Silver Sneakers class I taught at the Valley YMCA,” Weiss-Plass said.

They enthusiastically embraced the idea and began meeting in the lobby Wednesday mornings after their exercise class.

From February 2017 to April 2018 the group mailed $571,335.22 worth of coupons. They went from mailing boxes every other month to shipping them monthly, and knew they needed more space. Last spring they began meeting on the last Wednesday and Thursday of every month at St. Mary’s.

“We clip and sort on Wednesday, and tally, package and send on Thursday,” explained Kathy Miller.

She and Flower took over leadership of the group in May.

“It’s such a successful program. I knew it would be in good hands,” said Weiss-Plass.

Some folks clip at home and give the coupons to Troopon members, while others still meet to cut coupons on Wednesday mornings at the YMCA after their exercise class.

Actually, most of the Trooopon-ers cut at home, too.

“I clip at home a lot,” said Jim Snider. “My kitchen table is covered with coupons.”

Sandy Majesky laughed as she and her husband, Jim, snipped away.

“We’re always cutting coupons at home. Our tables are covered!” she said.

Janel Gibson smiled as she sorted stacks of coupons.

“We’re just a bunch of cut-ups,” she said.

A core group of about a dozen meets at the church each month. The sorting operation fills several long tables. Though the Troopon organization only requires the coupons to be sorted by food, nonfood, pet and baby items, the Spokane Valley group sorts them into more than 20 categories, which makes it easier for shoppers to grab what they need.

The cut-and-sorted coupons are then packaged into sandwich bags and carefully labeled with category, dollar amount and expiration date. Military stores overseas accept coupons up to six months past their expiration date, but all coupons must be “manufacturer” coupons. Store coupons cannot be used.

At the head of the table, Steve Czerwonka’s fingers fly over the calculator keys. He’s in charge of tallying the total amount of coupons donated each month.

He shrugged.

“I’m pretty good at organization,” he said.

As a veteran, he said he enjoys doing what he can to support the troops.

Most of the coupons come from newspaper inserts or mailers. The Knights of Columbus at St. Mary’s have long collected and recycled newspapers.

“My husband, Mike, said they could pull out all the coupons for us,” said Kathy Miller.

Their hard work has not gone unnoticed or unappreciated. The group has received thank-you notes from military members in Japan, Korea and Okinawa.

They’ve also heard firsthand how much those coupons help.

Julie McAndrew works at the Spokane Valley YMCA.

“When my husband was on active duty in Okinawa, money was tight,” she said. “We had two small girls. I used any coupon I could get my hands on. They were so helpful.”

Her experience bears out a Support Our Troops survey sent to military families. The survey reported that more than 60 percent said they use Troopons several times each month, and 33 percent said they use Troopons weekly.

Though the group volunteers countless hours of labor, shipping and supply costs aren’t free. Donations from individuals, plus a gift from the Knights of Columbus at St. Mary’s, help defray those costs.

“We could always use more help,” Flower said. “Whether money for mailing or people to help cut and sort.”

Miller smiled as she looked at the tables filled with stacks of sorted coupons.

“It’s just our little bit we can do,” she said.