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Caring for those who hold down the fort

Care packages for military spouses

Military spouses Megan Casper and Alana Le share the care packages for military spouses they offer through their business, The Six Box. Photo credit: Sarah Forsty

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Megan Casper and Alana Le were having coffee one day when the subject turned to military spouses and how they care for pretty much everyone in their lives. The two wondered,  "who takes care of military spouses when they are caring for others?"

Normal sources of support, such as family, friends and often spouses, may be far away or want to help but don't know how. In that moment, the idea for The Six Box was born.

The Six Box is a reverse care package designed to be a special gift to the one behind the scenes holding down the fort. The name comes from the military phrase "got your six," which means "I've got your back."  The boxes are sent out monthly and can be ordered individually. Three- or six-month subscriptions are also available.

Casper and Le carefully select the items for each box.

"We choose a theme each month and then source products from various companies, both military and civilian-owned, that fit well with the theme and of course (items) we would enjoy ourselves.  We mostly focus on working with other small businesses and military/veteran-owned as well," Casper said.

The business is currently run out of their homes and has grown quite a bit since it began.

"We have seen The Six Box's platform grow," Le said. "It has been exciting and something we didn't expect.  We receive many requests to write blog posts, donate to auctions and partner for giveaways with other companies who align with our mission to support military spouses and military marriages.  We manage to get the work done, but with additional professional endeavors outside of The Six Box, mamas to little ones and being married to husbands with ever-changing schedules, it does keep us on our toes."

The two are finding many benefits to owning their own business.  

"The main benefit, which is also our mission, is seeing other military spouses encouraged by our products. One of the most rewarding elements is writing the personal notes each month we include in the boxes at no extra charge.  We are honored to both peek into the lives of our recipients and be part of loving them through their friends and family," Casper said.

"On the more practical side," Le added, "we have built a creative, interesting side job that allows us to do something for ourselves that is not bound by the military's PCS moves (or) deployments."

Their advice to other military spouses hoping to open their own business is to go for your dreams but make sure you have done the research and are prepared to work hard. Don't start a business just to make money - do something because you love it and really believe in it.

To learn more about The Six Box or place an order, visit theSixBox.com.

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