While visiting my company’s Ft Collins office, I noticed a large cardboard box soliciting donations for our soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. They weren’t asking for money, of course, but for things that make up a care package containing things we take for granted like lotion, shampoo, drink mixes, cereal, gum, i.e. items that will not perish during shipping to hot or rough lands. It never occurred to me that, while military stores exist, most of our deployed military personnel lack access to some basic American things.
Not having anything to offer at the time, I searched online and found a reputable outfit called Soldiers’ Angels. You can pick from pre-packaged care packages, blankets, backpacks, books, etc. and send them to a soldier of your choice or anyone who can use it. Prices have come way down in the last month, so there’s your impetus. As a suggestion, I donated a Hero Pack (good variety of everyday items) and a calling card to an anonymous soldier. I get to talk to my mom and spouse almost everyday; so should our soldiers.
A couple of weeks later, Athenae over at First Draft initiated her own call for donations towards soldier care packages.
I e-mailed leinie and asked if there was something we on the blog could do, could send, could contribute. What her son and his friends might want. Good coffee, snackies, games and prepaid phone cards was the answer. A little food therapy, some fun, and a chance to call home. Not a tall order, really.
First Draft readers, the rockstars that they are, raised $700 and leinie’s son and his friends are in for a lovely treat! Whether you agree with our foreign wars or not, this is the least we can do for kids putting their lives on the line in tremendously harsh and hostile conditions.
After six months of living in India in 1990, I beseeched my American cousins for things like Jergens lotion, Wrigley’s gum, lip gloss, tapes of latest music and all things western teenagers long for. Even after three months in India in 1995, my heart and mouth ached for things like pizza, burgers, ice cream and potato chips, not because I consume those things on a regular basis normally, but it was a taste of home. Money is tight in this economy, but it is likely tighter for the soldiers and their families. Miles and miles away, unsure and unsafe, they await the day they can return home. Until then, let’s let them know we’re thinking of them.
