Every year in May, the McHenry County Department of Health partners with local organizations for Operation Dropbox, a donation drive benefiting Veterans Path to Hope and supporting veterans in McHenry County. Approximately 3,000 veterans and their families benefit from this initiative each year.

2026 Operation Dropbox

McHenry County drop site sign-up
Lake County drop site sign-up

The McHenry County Department of Health (MCDH) is excited to announce the 7^th annual Operation Dropbox, a donation drive dedicated to supporting more than 3,000 local veterans and their families. For the second time, the drive will include Lake County through a partnership with the Lake County Health Department. Organizations, churches, libraries, and businesses in both McHenry and Lake counties are invited to participate as drop site locations for this important initiative.

Following the donation drive, both McHenry and Lake counties will conduct state-mandated emergency preparedness exercises in June. McHenry County Medical Reserve Corps volunteers and MCDH staff will conduct one exercise, while the Lake County Medical Reserve Corps and Lake County Health Department will conduct a separate exercise. Both exercises will use donated items to simulate the unloading and distribution of medical countermeasures during an emergency.

During their first collaborative Operation Dropbox, McHenry and Lake counties saw a record level of community support, with 132 organizations participating as drop site locations and 11,427 pounds of donations collected for Veterans Path to Hope. Since its inception in 2018, MCDH has collected more than 26,000 pounds of donations from over 240 drop site locations.

The deadline to sign up as a drop site is Friday, April 3, with supplies delivered during the week of April 27.

2025 Results

During their first collaborative Operation Dropbox, Lake and McHenry County together saw a record level of community support, with 132 organizations participating as drop site locations and 11,427 pounds of donations for Veterans Path to Hope. Since its inception in 2018, the McHenry County Department of Health has collected over 26,000 pounds of donations from over 240 drop site locations.

For more information about Veterans Path to Hope, call (815) 321-4673 or visit veteranspathtohope.org. For information about becoming a Medical Reserve Corps volunteer or the Operation Dropbox donation drive, email community-health@mchenrycountyil.gov or call (815) 334-4500.

Program made possible by: