Posted on 11/29/2007 4:22:46 PM PST by SandRat
WASHINGTON, Nov. 29, 2007 As the holidays draw near and shopping lists get shorter, some may find theyre still looking for the perfect way to thank Any Servicemember this year.
Letters and cards are a simple, inexpensive way to show a servicemember theyve got support back home, especially during such a family-oriented time of the year. Marine Moms Online, www.marinemomsonline.net, based in Illinois, works to collect letters, letters, letters, said Julie Callahan, a group representative. (Marine Moms Online) members work with churches and schools collecting letters that are given to the recruits on Christmas morning, she said. Encouraging letters from veterans, celebrities, sports teams, and politicians are collected and assembled into scrapbooks that are available to all recruits in the support battalions throughout the year. The Military Support Group of Connection Pointe Christian Church in Brownsburg, Ind., www.cpmsglife.org, has a goal of sending 4,000 cards to men and women serving overseas. Those will accompany 18-inch decorated Christmas trees. (We) have sent approximately 10,000 Christmas Cards, said Robert Leive, a representative of the group. Last year, the group sent 4,000 cards. Many groups work hard to collect holiday greetings for the troops, and though it was common practice during past conflicts, sending a letter addressed to Any Servicemember is not a good idea. The Defense Department, citing security concerns, enforces a policy specifying mail not addressed to a specific individual will not be accepted. Its better to look to a troop-support organization that has established contacts to receive letters to the troops. A box of goodies at the holidays is a sure way to brighten a deployed servicemembers day, and dozens of troop-support organizations are working to make sure no servicemember has a gloomy holiday. This will be our fifth year of sending holiday treats to our troops, as well as our weekly support care packages, said Meredith Kelly, chair of Illinois-based Operation Stars and Stripes, www.operationstars.com. In November, we start sending new pre-lit 3- and 4-foot Christmas trees with all the trimmings to our units that we are supporting. Those trees come complete with a DVD copy of the original Its a Wonderful Life, she said. We try to reach as many as we can to let them know they are not forgotten, Kelly added. Californias Operation Gratitude, www.opgratitude.com, has mastered the art of sending care packages, packing more than 34,000 boxes of goodies in the first four days of its 2007 Holiday Drive, which kicked off Veterans Day weekend. Group officials anticipate packing the 300,000th care package for a deployed servicemember on Dec. 15. That milestone package is expected to arrive on or around Christmas Eve and will contain a special gift for the recipient. We will be sending 50,000 to 60,000 care packages to deployed troops, said Carolyn Blashek, the groups founder. We welcome donations of items, letters, funds to pay for postage, and volunteers to help assemble the packages at our facility in Van Nuys, Calif. Sometimes the best way to support the troops at any time of the year is to support their families back home. During the holidays, this can be especially powerful. CRVA Charities, Inc.s annual Toys for the Troops Kids drive, www.toysforthetroopskids.org, began in 2003 with a goal of providing two toys for every child of a deployed military parent from the Sacramento, Calif. area. A booming success, the program has expanded, said William F. Stein, the groups president. We will collect 50,000 toys for the kids of deployed troops (to be) distributed in four western states and Hawaii in December, he said. |
Christmas Cheer to Troops PING
They are Battle co. of the 173rd, fighting in "Taliban Central" in the north eastern Provence of Kunar, Afghanistan, up against the Paki border.
They were featured in a film recently where embeds, who had no idea how bad a situation they would find themselves in, just filmed as things went down - no spin = no time to spin...as you will see if you watch the film - about 15 minutes - link on the Home Base of the 173rd in Italy...
You owe it to yourself to watch = I can guarantee that 19 out of 20 of you have not a clue what is happening there.
http://www.setaf.army.mil/
scroll down to "Go behind the front lines in Afghanistan "
..
BTTT
got a whole lot of Christmas Cheer in my garage right now — working on getting it into boxes! *G*
Thanks for the post. Always looking for ways to support our troops and their families.
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