Kahne Loftus, 18, Rainier, and his family hosted their second annual “Show Up & Show Off” All-Vehicle Show at Wilkowski Park in Rainier with a cornhole tournament Saturday, Sept. 7, to raise money and collect donations to send holiday care packages overseas to service members.
Saturday’s event, which raised over $2,100 and featured more than 60 vehicles, was just a small part of Loftus’ goal, one that he has had since he was just 10 years old.
On Oct. 7, 2016, Loftus’ uncle Derek passed away in his sleep at the age of 31. Loftus was very close with his uncle, whom he often referred to as “Uncle Dude,” and he struggled with the grieving process.
“He was more or less like a bigger brother to me. We’d do everything together. I was always with him,” he said.
Loftus’ mother, Darcy Harris-Loftus, tried to help him cope with the loss by finding him a pen pal. She reached out to a friend, whose husband served in the military. He contacted one of his friends in Afghanistan, Chad, to write to Loftus.
As they wrote back and forth every month or so, Loftus learned about life in the military and discovered the unfortunate truth that soldiers had to stay in Afghanistan during the holidays and couldn’t go home to their families.
“Kahne was baffled at 10 years old. He didn’t hesitate. He asked, ‘What can we do?’” Harris-Loftus said.
In December of 2017, Loftus contacted friends and family for donations to create 40 holiday care packages for his pen pal and his platoon overseas. The next year, he sent care packages to 100 soldiers and 10 K9 working dogs and their handlers.
In 2023, 365 service members and five K9 working dog teams received care packages, which often include candy, pens, meat sticks, socks, card games, snacks, board games, coloring books, word searches and more.
Donations and fundraising events are a big part of their mission as care packages cost $25 to ship, and gifts for K9 working dog teams cost $100 to ship.
Saturday’s car show and cornhole tournament also featured awards, a raffle, a silent auction, local vendors and a dunk tank where friends and visitors could attempt to dunk Loftus in ice-cold water in exchange for donation money.
“It means a lot more than most people think, just in being able to help and support me and also to be able to support people overseas so that they know that it is appreciated what they do and that they’re not stationed over there for no reason,” Loftus said of the community’s support.
Loftus even had the chance to meet a service member who received one of his care packages at the event.
“I absolutely loved that,” he said. “I’ve gotten messages from people overseas who receive packages, and it makes me feel really awesome. I didn’t even expect it to get this big, honestly. I’m just trying to keep it growing and do whatever we can.”
Loftus and his family are teaming up with Bertoglio’s Pizza in Yelm for an Artvana paint and sip class at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 19, and are also raising money for ingredients for baked goods to send to service members overseas for the holidays.
To learn more about Kahne’s Kare Packages, email kahneskarepackages@yahoo.com, or call Harris-Loftus at 253-304-5454.
