It hasn't been that long since my nephew was stationed in Afghanistan so when my friend, Adair asked for volunteers to support her nephew's platoon I jumped at the chance to "adopt" 2 soldiers. There are 20 young men in the platoon and as of this moment 12 still need to be taken "care" of. Are you interested? Your commitment would be to send a package to the soldier you are assigned. I will be happy to provide you with ideas and some guidance on what not to send (chocolate in July in the desert not such a great idea) and links to other resources. A handwritten thank you note is always nice to include. I use the medium size priority boxes from the post office so the shipping cost doesn't surprise me. Because the packages go to US bases it is considered domestic.
When you accept, you are committing to send a package out in the next 2 weeks. That's it...as far as my and Adair's and the soldier's expectations but if you want you can continue to send occasional packages, letters, cards. Who knows you may be the one that helps him to remember that people outside his family and friends are grateful for the sacrifices he is making. After a long, hot, grueling day filled with stress he may return to the base and be able to smile because he picks up the superman bandaids you sent for the blister he has gotten.
We are in the "patriotic season" right now. Starting at Memorial Day in late May we become more focused on our freedoms and the sacrifices made for the great country we live in. Flag Day and Independence Day bring out our wreaths, flags, home décor and cookout bounty of red, white and blue. This summer why not pack a red, white and blue priority box and ship to a soldier that is making sure we continue to enjoy this life.
These are American soldiers but for my readers in the UK, Australia, Spain, Canada and other countries I know your soldiers whether deployed or at home always welcome a show of gratitude. Google makes it easy to find reputable organizations to hook up with so why not check out the opportunities for the men and women serving your country.
That's a lovely idea Beverly. We have a friend who has deployed to Afganistan several times over the past 10 years and I know he always appreciates any extra support and connection to home.
ReplyDeleteYou already know I'm in. :o) What a great idea, Beverly. This is something I've wanted to do for a while now and just didn't know how to go about it. Thanks for providing the path for us. I'll be shopping this weekend. :o)
ReplyDeleteThis is great! The Army unit that the daughter of a friend of mine is in is being transferred from Korea to Afghanistan in the next few weeks (or September) so we are getting "Welcome to the Desert" packs together for them this week to send out.
ReplyDeleteBeverly,
ReplyDeletePlease sign me up. Email me at rinda1961 {at} yahoo {dot} com and let me know what I should do.
Thanks for organizing this,
Rinda
As soon as I heard my mom was doing this, I wanted in too! :) I've sent packages before and it's so fun and rewarding to put them together. Can you email me the details? Thanks! :) rosalindrevival (at) hotmail (dot) com
ReplyDeleteAwesome, Carrie, getting ready to email you :)
DeleteHmm...not sure if my first comment went through? Well regardless, I want in - rosalindrevival (at) hotmail (dot) com :)
ReplyDelete