Thank You, Thank You,Thank You to anysoldier. This site is FANTASTIC!!!! I have been using anysoldier for almost a year. It's amazing all the work that Marty and his crew do. I can't thank-you enough. 

I am a huge anysoldier junkie as you all are calling yourselves. I have been supporting our guys and gals since July of 2003 and find it very rewarding. All of them are truly dedicated and deserve the highest respect and support that any one can possibly offer. I myself find it very hard not wanting to request everyones name to try and help them all in one way or another. Which leads me to a question I have for anyone who can help. Do you keep 1 soldier or do you send to multiple contacts.

 I have 13 contacts right now and find myself feeling it's not enough. What more can I do. Right now I'm sending 2-4 boxes per week. Not all to the same person, just making sure they all get at least 1 box a month. 

Thanks Again Marty and crew

GOD Bless America and keep out troops safe

 

 

Zoey, I feel exactly the same way.  I started out thinking I would send a couple of packages to one contact per month.  I'm up to four contacts getting anywhere from 2 - 6 boxes a month (depending on the number in thier unit.) But every day when I read the soldiers' postings I find someone else that I want to support.  I've thought about reducing the number of boxes I send to an address so that I could send to a wider variety, but then I remind myself that just because the packages go to one address doesn't mean that they are going to the same soldier every time.  My plan tonight is to continue to support the four contacts I have now for as long as they stay active with AnySoldier.  If someone drops off, I’ll hope and pray for their safety but will look for a new posting that strikes a chord in my heart.  And then again, maybe I'll put together a package for that new soldier posting I saw tonight that sounded a tiny bit lonely and a little down.  While my husband might protest (not too loudly) at the thought of making more trips to the post office, there's always room for one more, right?   

Zoey:

I myself find it very hard not wanting to request everyones name to try and help them all in one way or another. Which leads me to a question I have for anyone who can help. Do you keep 1 soldier or do you send to multiple contacts.

 I just found this site yesterday but I am already feeling the same way!  I am just overwhelmed - there are SO many contacts, I feel like no matter what I do it is not going to be enough.  So in answer to keeping 1 soldier or multiple contacts, though I am not speaking from any experience, I think the thing to do is whatever works best for you, so that you will be operating at your max capability.  It ALL helps, and that is what we are all here for, right?

God bless you all,

Cheryl

It is tough picking contacts....I would love to send them all something. Right now I have 8 contacts I mail letters and send packages to. When I first discovered this site I picked contacts who hadn't had their address requested a lot. I also picked some from Georgia. Some of my older contacts have gone home or been taken off the site because no one has heard from them. I try to focus on my current list of soldiers but it never fails I will be reading an email and someone will really grab me. I agree with Cheryl, do whatever works best for you. Everything helps and it means the world to them.

Hi Zoey,

I send to multiple contacts some of whom I adopted and some new it always changes. I think 13 is a lot and you should be very proud with what you are doing. Remember you may be supporting 13 contacts put the actual number of warriors that you are touching is probably four or five times that many or more!

Lisa

I started with one contact this past Christmas.  I guess I have about two dozen now.  Some I have sent only one package and might not send another; others I have sent multiple packages to.  I am more likely to send additional packages if I hear back from them, because then I usually learn more about what they need.

Sometimes I do mass mailings, which I hardly count, because they aren't very personal.  I am a volunteer for the Friends of the Durham Library, which holds a big used book sale several times a year.  After each one, I box up paperbacks and send them to all of my contacts who asked for books, whether I have heard from them or not.

I wish I could box up my local Walmart and send the whole darn thing to Baghdad.

Free Spirit:

 

I wish I could box up my local Walmart and send the whole darn thing to Baghdad.

 

Don't forget the parking lot, too! I'll never forget the one contact who said he was so happy to get a package he didn't care what was inside- even a piece of the parking lot was welcome, he said.

Thanks, Mom

Hi Zoey!

  When I started this in 2004, I was up to 50 contacts after 3 months!! I just couldn't stop myself from sending packages every time I read about a new soldier. Some of them didn't even have the basic EQUIPMENT they needed, like a radio to keep in touch with other members of their unit on a mission!!  I was so angry that they could be sent into danger without having the best resources available.  I kind of went crazy sending stuff that first year until all my contacts were home. Then I realized that I had to limit myself before my husband took away my checkbook and credit cards!! :)  Now I usually have no more than 3 contacts at a time, and I have a couple from my first group in 2004-05 who are now being deployed again. Since they're part of my family now, I will be supporting them, too. I say do as much as you can for as many as you can--some will respond and become personally important to you; others won't reply, but you'll have the reward of knowing that one of their days was brighter because of you.  I wish every adult in this country with the means to do so would send just one package a month. Think what that would do for our troops!!

  Good luck and keep in touch!    Cheryl in Wisconsin

I'm glad I'm not the only one who has to be careful about going crazy at the Walmart!  It can be so addicting.  Every time I go into any store I start looking around for possible items to pick up and put in my stash. I have started a little corner where I can store some items, and then if I see a request for some of them I'll throw them in a box and away they go.  I need to just monitor the buying a little bit more!  As I have told my friends, I get the same kind of feeling with this site as I do when I visit the animal shelter....I want to take care of all the soldiers on the site, just like I want to take all the animals home with me!  But I know neither is possible, so I just do what I can within my limits.  I only have 2 dogs, so I'm doing very well!

 Sue in Mars, PA

Sue in Mars,

We have noticed that it works in our family if I make the list and send Grandpa after the items we need most of the time because he tends to stay closer to the list than Grandma does unless he finds some really great buys when he tends to go overboard worse than I do.  He isn't doing the reading of the daily posts like I am.  He only reads my notes that I copy off for our use unless I call his attention to a particularly interesting message.  He just brought in a bag of 80 pizza type beef and cheese sticks yesterday that he found a good buy on, so he does have his "want to buy it all" days LOL..

BTW - a piece of the parking lot might be appreciated by one of the contacts who mentioned that they grow 2 inches walking across the so-called parking lot in the rainy season.

Gran

Hello, 'Humanist' from Michigan!...(and 'Zoey', too.)

I, too, am in Michigan...East Lansing. I don't see too many of us here so far. Wanted to say "HI".

I heard about this site on public radio (WKAR-AM) and started reading the postings last winter. It sure is addicting!!! I couldn't believe how little the soldiers had over there. I started making lists of soldiers I might do something for and could see right away that I had better figure out a way to limit myself. I decided that I especially wanted to support the MI females. The search function was very useful. I found only one from my area and sent her several boxes with bedding, toiletries, Mother's Day cards, and snacks. I have received a lovely thank you card as well as email from her already. I was thrilled.

Since I do genealogy, I then looked for MI females with family surnames. I found one (who is probably some shirttail relation based on the spelling) and I have sent her several shipments. I also entered her in the Dunkin' Donuts Free Coffee for the troops drawing and she recently got picked.( https://www.dunkindonuts.com/aboutus/contact/Feedback.aspx?type=4 ) Now I am really curious to know just how much 'a case of coffee' actually is! Unfortunately, I haven't heard from her and now her posting has expired, but I'm sure her unit or whoever received it was very pleased. Another of my entries also got picked. Pretty good odds, eh!?!? I recommend entering all your soldiers there, and monthly.

I have noticed that many postings have expired over this spring even though they weren't scheduled to return home any time soon. Most I think are just too busy to keep current or without computer access. I have also read that communications get shut down when there are any casualties in their area...sigh. I ship anyway, but I have started checking the casualty lists first when I can bear it. Also, on the customs form, I check the little box in the lower right corner that if the addressee is not available, to deliver it to anyone, and I add 'AnySoldier at that person's location' so perhaps it will at least reach that destination. I don't want my shipment returned though.

So far I've shipped to 7 people, some several times. I've heard back from 2. I've requested about 12 names so far, so I have some catching up to do. It is costing alot and my partner doesn't know the half of it, but luckily he is a soft-hearted guy, too, and doesn't mind my 'little obsession' too much. I'm getting back into couponing and shopping the sales leaflets to compensate, HA!

One funny success story: Our local college is MSU (Michigan State University) with a green and white Spartan mascot. A search of AnySoldier for 'spartan' produced several fans plus units using that word in their name. One soldier, George Hudson of Task Force Spartan in Afghanistan, was such a prolific writer and photographer that I decided to reward his efforts by sending him some 'Spartan' items. Around town, I searched for and found T-shirts, frizbees, hacky sack balls, stationery, auto deodorizer, keychains, clips and much more with only the Spartan name and symbol of a helmeted head (without the college name). I also discovered that a local grocery store's house brand was 'Spartan', so I got to send him Spartan brand paper plates, plastic bowls, cutlery, coffee creamer, baby wipes, and even toilet paper. He wrote back that they had a ball playing practical jokes with the baby wipes and toilet paper (can you imagine!?!), and his Spartan T-shirt was the envy of the camp. WHAT FUN!!!

So that's how I manage this new compulsion. I heartily encourage you to try it. Once you start reading the postings, it is so rewarding to act. And hearing back from any of them is just a huge plus! Enjoy...

Deb...aka 'AuntDeb'

 

Deb- You sound like a very fun supporter- I bet your soldiers LOVE you- even if they don't have a chance to write back!