Pat and Mac McCoy began Yellow Ribbon Support Group in 2003 when they started sending snacks and toiletries to their son's 12-person Special Forces team in Iraq.
Since then, Yellow Ribbon's taken on a life of its own.
The Arlington Heights Daily Herald says the project's recruited dozens of volunteers over the years. Space in village hall was dedicated to storing all the items and local police even sent juvenile offenders to help assemble the packages as part of their community service work.
But the McCoys say it's getting harder to collect donations, among other challenges.
The project will wrap up later this fall.
