Hi all,
First, I'm pretty new here, so I wasn't quite sure where to post this. If this is the wrong forum please accept my apologies and move to wherever it is most appropriate. If it's not OK to promote this cause, by all means delete the topic and accept my apologies.
That said, if it's OK to do so I wanted to take a moment and promote what I think is a really good cause. http://www.anysoldier.com - they're a nonprofit org that provides addresses of soldiers "in harms way" so that people can send them care packages.
You can be very specific with your address request (e.g. a marine, from Louisiana, female) or totally random ("send me a random contact name") - I always do the latter. They have volunteers in units all over the place who receive the packages, and distribute them to soldiers in their units. Of course the recipients are then expected to share whatever goodies are in the packages.
They don't ask for much - just small donations to keep their site running. I typically send them $1-2 every time I request addresses (up to 3 at a time).
They also have a long list of standard/suggested items - beef jerky, playing cards, baby wipes (for the dust), etc.
I started doing this because I have a good friend who was deployed overseas. I was sending him care packages since he loves my hot sauce and he said the food over there sucked - totally bland as they cook to the "lowest common denominator". I received thank you letters from everyone in his unit, with an overwhelming tone of appreciation. Really made their day to get something somewhat gourmet in such a hostile place. I was inspired - I figured there must be folks in other units in more dangerous places who would appreciate it as well. Hey, if I made armor plating for Humvees as a hobby I'd send that, but I make hot sauce, so...
I've since sent 30 care packages over the last year or so - the destinations vary, from soldiers at the US HQ in Dayala, Iraq to a Marine sniper unit in Afghanistan to an armored vehicle convoy team. And while no thanks are ever expected, on every occasion I've received a thoughtful and respectful thank-you note or email - some send photos, and in one instance I even received the American flag of a base that was closing (that was cool).
USPS flat rate can be used since these are all APOs - as such it's domestic postage. Since it's flat rate, for $10 you can send several bottles of hot sauce, books, cookies - whatever fits in the box. I do trades with a couple local chefs of "hot sauce for cookies" or "hot sauce for salted caramel lollys", etc and include those.
Regardless of how you feel about the war (no political talk, I know) these are Americans - kids for the most part - and they're in a crappy place doing a difficult job. I know times are tight, but if you can, I encourage you to send something, even if it's just a letter.
I try to promote the cause, and I know there are a lot of hot sauce makers, both hobbyists and pros on this site. One response I received was something like "thanks for the hot sauce!!! We're up to our !^#&!^%# in baby wipes and playing cards!" haha
Again, I hope it's ok to post this here at THP. I'll understand if it's not.
First, I'm pretty new here, so I wasn't quite sure where to post this. If this is the wrong forum please accept my apologies and move to wherever it is most appropriate. If it's not OK to promote this cause, by all means delete the topic and accept my apologies.
That said, if it's OK to do so I wanted to take a moment and promote what I think is a really good cause. http://www.anysoldier.com - they're a nonprofit org that provides addresses of soldiers "in harms way" so that people can send them care packages.
You can be very specific with your address request (e.g. a marine, from Louisiana, female) or totally random ("send me a random contact name") - I always do the latter. They have volunteers in units all over the place who receive the packages, and distribute them to soldiers in their units. Of course the recipients are then expected to share whatever goodies are in the packages.
They don't ask for much - just small donations to keep their site running. I typically send them $1-2 every time I request addresses (up to 3 at a time).
They also have a long list of standard/suggested items - beef jerky, playing cards, baby wipes (for the dust), etc.
I started doing this because I have a good friend who was deployed overseas. I was sending him care packages since he loves my hot sauce and he said the food over there sucked - totally bland as they cook to the "lowest common denominator". I received thank you letters from everyone in his unit, with an overwhelming tone of appreciation. Really made their day to get something somewhat gourmet in such a hostile place. I was inspired - I figured there must be folks in other units in more dangerous places who would appreciate it as well. Hey, if I made armor plating for Humvees as a hobby I'd send that, but I make hot sauce, so...
I've since sent 30 care packages over the last year or so - the destinations vary, from soldiers at the US HQ in Dayala, Iraq to a Marine sniper unit in Afghanistan to an armored vehicle convoy team. And while no thanks are ever expected, on every occasion I've received a thoughtful and respectful thank-you note or email - some send photos, and in one instance I even received the American flag of a base that was closing (that was cool).
USPS flat rate can be used since these are all APOs - as such it's domestic postage. Since it's flat rate, for $10 you can send several bottles of hot sauce, books, cookies - whatever fits in the box. I do trades with a couple local chefs of "hot sauce for cookies" or "hot sauce for salted caramel lollys", etc and include those.
Regardless of how you feel about the war (no political talk, I know) these are Americans - kids for the most part - and they're in a crappy place doing a difficult job. I know times are tight, but if you can, I encourage you to send something, even if it's just a letter.
I try to promote the cause, and I know there are a lot of hot sauce makers, both hobbyists and pros on this site. One response I received was something like "thanks for the hot sauce!!! We're up to our !^#&!^%# in baby wipes and playing cards!" haha
Again, I hope it's ok to post this here at THP. I'll understand if it's not.
