Monetary donations – PayPal

If you’d like to donate money to help us cover shipping costs or purchase items, you can send it via PayPal:

PayPal donations

**You do not need to have a PayPal account**

If you include a message with your donation, we’ll pass it along to the troops. What we normally do is print off the message and include it along with the rest of the notes & cards we put in the boxes. Your message will be included in the packages we send out after we receive your donation.

NOTE: The troops receiving care packages are not always able to correspond with us. However, if you would like to include your personal contact information for them to contact you directly, please include it in the message section of your donation. We absolutely will NOT use your information for any other purpose but to provide to the troops per your request.

Thank you for getting involved! We hope you’ll continue to join us in sending little boxes of love & joy to our troops!

Class project (Mrs. Cabrera’s 3rd grade)

In honor of Veteran’s Day, Mrs. Cabrera’s 3rd grade class is collecting items to send to the troops in November!

Items we need:

• Candy/gum (individually wrapped)
• Beef jerky (Slim Jims are a favorite!)
• Instant drink mixes (single serving size is preferred) – Crystal Light, instant coffee, etc.
• Portable snacks like sunflower seeds, trail mix, granola bars, raisins
• DVDs & Games (board games or video games – several units have PlayStations, Xbox’s, Wii’s, PSPs).
• Paper & pens for writing letters, doodling, or even keeping a journal
• Personal hygiene for men and women (shaving, toothbrushes & toothpaste, baby wipes, antibacterial wipes, deodorant, lotion, lip balm, etc)
• For the women – manicure/pedicure kits, nail files, nail polish, skin care products
• Cash donations are also welcome! Packages are sent via USPS Priority Mail, and while there is a special rate ($10.95 per box) for shipping to military addresses, we always end up sending several boxes because the flat-rate boxes just aren’t very big.

Items may be brought to Mrs. Cabrera’s classroom. A donation box for cash donations will be in the classroom, as well (PayPal donations can be sent here: PayPal donations). **You do not need to have a PayPal account** We’ll be packing and shipping the boxes on Saturday, December 6. Please turn in your items or donations before then. For more information (or to help out), send me a message!

Update (Nov 12):

So far we’ve already collected over $100 for this project! Amazing! We are very excited, as this means we will be able to send more boxes than we thought!

Why send care packages?

We often talk about how hard it is for the troops to be away from home, their families, and the conveniences of life back here at home. Little things that we take for granted mean a lot to them – hot running water, fun things to do, snacks, even clean socks at times! Most important, though, is knowing that somebody back home cares about you and your well-being. Letters, cards, funny pictures; these all go a long way to brighten someone’s day!

Putting together care packages for the troops is the pet project at our home. We love to go out and shop for little things to send, draw pictures, write notes, then pack everything up and ship it! Who doesn’t LOVE getting presents? Especially when you’re in a strange land & are feeling a little homesick. We don’t just send fun little presents, though – the men and women troops also need pretty practical stuff like toothpaste and deodorant. For many of them the nearest store isn’t very nearby at all, and they rarely get an opportunity to actually go. They work long hours in dangerous (or downright depressing) conditions. What little downtime they DO get should be spent doing something enjoyable, relaxing; something to help them recharge and feel like themselves again.

Our latest packages – Nov 10 2008

November 10, 2008

We’ve just filled up three boxes to ship out. They’ll be going to a group of Marines in Iraq. This is what’s in the boxes (each box is pretty much identical):

Kool-Aid singles (cherry & orange)

Instant coffee

Creamer packets (the “real stuff” in the little cups – hazelnut & vanilla flavors)

Slim Jims

Sunflower seeds

Oatmeal creme pies

Card game (Rook, UNO, regular playing cards)

Mini Slinky’s (just for fun!)

Bite size Milky Way bars

Leftover Halloween candy (the kids each got to keep 14 pieces of their choice – the rest is going to the troops!)

As you can see in the picture, the boxes are not very big at all. These are the USPS Priority Mail – Large size. The flat rate on these is $10.95 to military addresses. The boxes do seem to arrive fairly quickly, though.

Note to self (and all aspiring care package senders): It would be much, much easier to fill up one box with candy, one box with drink mixes, one box with games/toys and so on. Why? You have to fill out a separate customs form for each box. If each box contains just one type of item, the form is MUCH easier to fill out. Especially when you consider that each form is made up of probably 5 or 6 separate sheets – you know the kind, “You are making multiple copies – press hard.” It gets to be a little unpleasant after you’ve filled out the first form.

How you can help

By contributing items to the care packages being sent by Mrs. Cabrera’s class, of course! Other things you can do:

Have kids in other grades? Organize a care package drive in their class!

Send your own care packages! Check out AnySoldier! This is the website we use to find troops to send packages to. It has lots of great information, and they have been running it for years!

Recruit family, friends, neighbors & co-workers to collect items, package them, and ship them out.

Know someone stationed overseas? Ask them what sort of items they & their unit need. You may be able to send care packages to them directly. In some cases, you may send it to their commanding officer or other contact to have the items distributed among the troops.

Kids love to draw pictures and write stories, and the troops love to get fun things like this in the mail! In lieu of sending an entire care package, you and your family can send notes, pictures, and encouraging words!

Donate via PayPal. Donations will go towards shipping costs & purchasing items.  **You do not  need to have a PayPal account.