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I urge you to visit this site. This has nothing to do with supporting or not supporting the war; but it has everything to do with supporting those men and women in uniform.
If you have another group, please feel free to post it. If you have information on what is needed by soldiers please post that as well!
For those that send care packs here are a few hints that I have learned:
At the post office you can get free priority mail, flat rate boxes. It costs $8.10 to mail, no matter the weight. I have crammed those boxes so full of stuff! If you are sending a box to a FPO address, you have to go into the post office to fill out a customs form. No big deal, but you can't just put the $8.10 on it. Going into the post office is fun though, because you can see how much you have saved by using this box. One time, I would have had to pay $29 if I didn't use that flat rate box! I sent a lot of batteries in that box!
Food items are by far the most popular requests
Canteens holdl 1 quart. If you send a 2 quart mix such as Crystal Light, you might wantto send a jug too!
No pork or pork products, alcohol, or pornography
No chocolate after May or before September. With temperatures reaching into the
130's and beyond, the chocolate wouldn't make it very far!
Don't forget plastic silverware with food items.
Put liquids and scented items in Zip Lock bags just in case!
Here's how to send some cake:
Use six- (6) WIDE mouth, pint size canning jars, along with rims and
ALWAYS use new metal lids.
**NOTE** Be sure to use canning jars for this NOT recycled
mayonnaise jars or the like. Be sure to sterilize the jars, rims,
and metal lids in boiling water according to the manufacturer's
directions.
Grease the inside of the six- (6) jars ---But NOT the rims of the
jars. ( I use the spray PAM with flour. It works very well)
Prepare the cake mix as instructed on the box or per your recipe
Use ONLY 1 Full Cup measured, per jar.
*NEVER USE MORE THAN 1 CUP OF BATTER, PER JAR.*
Place the open jars, evenly spaced apart for browning, on a cookie
sheet. Place in the Preheated oven (325). Bake as instructed for
cupcakes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
**When removing jars from oven, only remove one at a time. Leave the
others in the oven and work quickly**
Wipe the jar rim/top, inside & out, with a paper towel. Place the
metal disc lid in place and then screw the jar ring, tightly, to
secure. You SHOULD hear the jar seal with either a "pop" or a "ping"
sound quite fast. Open oven door and remove another jar and repeat
the process.
Also any quick bread recipe works, but be careful to MEASURE ONLY ONE-
(1) FULL CUP OF BATTER, PER JAR. You can also use regular cake mix
in these jars but ALWAYS use ONLY a measured 1 FULL CUP of batter,
per jar.
The cake will slide out of jar whole. It can then be cut in round
medallions or in quarter sticks.
I include a can of frosting too in the care pack.
There are some brillant ideas from women on the soldier's angels forum. They have made sending stuff much easier with their hints.
Catherine mentioned this (in another thread too):
Also, I do click n ship, you can fill out the customs form on line too! (On-line USPO)
The FPO goes in the "state" spot and the AP goes where the "country" usually goes.
You then just hand it to your carrier, or have them scheduled to pick it up.
I wish we could adopt an Iraqi family...I think they are more needy than our troops...I mean, I support our troops 100%, don't get me wrong, but some of the stuff they request seem like luxuries. And I think it would be more beneficial and build strong bridges if we could do something like that...
Here's another way military members and their families and government employees can help. The "Armed Services Blood Program" is how the military gets the blood for their troops. They cannot ask civilians to donate since that depletes the donors needed by local blood banks and hospitals. Unfortunately many military members are not eligible to donate for the reasons listed on the ASBP website (possible exposure to Mad Cow disease being a big one) and that has really depleted the military's ability to supply blood to itself. The website contains all the information you need to "Give the gift of life" to our troops:
If you are a member of one of the following groups you can provide the gift of life to our troops. "Members of all Services, government employees, retirees and military family members are eligible to donate to the ASBP." If you're not a member of one of those groups please donate to your local hospital to keep them from suffering blood deficits if their regular donors are eligible to donate to the ASBP. Give the gift of life.
Ber
Last edited by Ber Rabbit; April 12th, 2007 at 07:32 AM.
"I'm not a fan of summer storms. Between the lightening that might blow up my house or the tornado that might throw a cow through it, I don't sleep well." Steve_Dives
Happy to be a dork diver! www.dorkdiver.com
I wish we could adopt an Iraqi family...I think they are more needy than our troops...I mean, I support our troops 100%, don't get me wrong, but some of the stuff they request seem like luxuries. And I think it would be more beneficial and build strong bridges if we could do something like that...
I will ask about that....we have been "informally" sending things like school supplies and balls and toys to the children. The parents are always even happier than the kids, to see their children happy for a few minutes after living in all this strife for years now. I think it is important that they know Americans care about them.
Yesterday, JB told me he went somewhere, to another town and about 50 Iraqis all ran over "Capt Beal, Capt Beal!!!!"..and he felt like a rock star, all his 19 year old Marines saw all these man hugs and the bond they had (from the last deployment, MTT team) We may not "win" this, but the friendships that are being forged will change a generation, on both sides.
double post..sorry
Last edited by Cacia; April 11th, 2007 at 07:11 PM.
Things that my brother said to send more of for the kids in the towns:
soccer balls (or other balls) and pumps
hackey sacks
silly putty
frisbees
slinkys
puzzles
coloring books with colored pencils (NO CRAYONS) and sharpeners
Jacks/ball
Marbles
beanie babies
Paper/pencils/pens
Crayola watercolors (9 color sets with a couple of brushes)
Sidewalk chalk (hopscotch, 4-square)
Stickers of any type
Jumpropes
ball of yarn for cat's cradle
We put together a pack whenever he runs low. On their breaks his group takes time to teach the kids how to play marbles, jacks, hopscotch, hackey sack, jump rope, cat's cradle as they can. He said it's great to see the kids being kids even if it's for a few minutes, and it reminds him to not loose site of the human element of such a tough time.
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