Ladies and Gentelmen

I would like to THANK YOU all for participating in a cause that I should have been making an effort at long ago....  Instead of sitting here in my insulated world.  I have no excuse. You are the heros behind our heros

I found this site, this past week, as I was searching for the best way to send care packages to my son when he deploys to Iraq in December. I went through quite a few tissue as I read through the posts from our brave young Sons and Daughters of America.

I vow to try and do better from now on .... at the moment ... I really have no funds and a few medical problems and that is all I will say about it when our children's lives are at stake.... BUT I know people and have some advertising background .. I have already started drafting an info package to tell people about Any Soldier for a friend to distribute in our area ...  I have contacted my son and told him to get on the internet while he is still stateside and look into Any Soldier so that he will understand how it works and can possibly be a contact ... I have given him my old laptop so that if he has internet connection he can be in contact with us

I maybe a little slower at getting some actually packages shipped off because I must acheive this goal by motivating others ..but I have already started on that and I did find a few items in an unpassable sale at the Dollar Store yesterday ... it is not much but it is a start

Proudmom 

Welcome to the forum and Glad you found this sight..   

Thanks for your son's service and the sacrifices it has on your entire family.

May you feel the love and support by many who care deepley about our men and women serving.

Glad you found us.

Jackie

 Chris,

No need to kick yourself. You are here now, and that's the important part.

Hugs to you and many thanks to your son for his service to our country. If he signs up on AS when he deploys, I'm sure many of us Junkies will be proud to "adopt" him and his Soldiers.

I sent you an e-mail...

Ms Tracy

Dear Chris --

Where to start?  Thank you -- and thank your son for his and your service to our country.  And a very warm welcome to the Forum.  You will soon see, I think, that we are deeply committed to supporting our troops, their families, and each other -- in any and every way we can.  Reach out to us -- please -- we are here   We are Support Junkies -- it's who we are and why we are here!

Please don't feel bad or inadequate because you are not in a position right now to send packages.  It's about *support* -- as you read the posts, you'll see over and over that many of the troops say that letters and cards from back home mean the world to them.  And absolutely motivate others!  YES!!!  Just think about how many more loving supporters you can help guide to this by doing that. 

And please -- no more kicking yourself!!!! -- It hurts, leaves bruises, and has no positive effect whatsoever.  So -- cut it out, my friend (LOL!)

Welcome aboard, Chris!

--Marilyn

DON'T kick yourself!! If you can't afford the packages at the moment don't worry. The soldiers LOVE to get letters, and they often mean much more than a bar of soap, though they will appreciate those things when you can send them. Just do what you can when you can and you can't go wrong. Please let me know this winter when you son deploys and becomes a contact so I can support him. Stay strong!

Dear Chris,

Don't beat yourself up, at least you found this site before your son headed off. You don't need to have a lot of money, letters to soldiers are great as well.  There are very many soldiers out there that don't have family or anyone to write to them, so that is what all these wonderful folks on this forum do.

As a mom of an Army Infantry soldier also just newly stationed in Afghanistan; I can't tell you how much I appreciate all the support that is out there.

If you ever need to talk, just give me a holler.

Angela

Welcome, you are among friends, my dear.  Never feel like you have nothing to contribute.  Cards, letter, flyers, passing the word along to others.........all worthy things that you can do.  And don't forget you have already given much........you have obviously raised a stellar young man who knows what it is to give and sacrifice and be willing to fight for our freedom.  So, we salute YOU!  Thanks for coming on board.

Thank you all for such a warm welcome ... although I don't have any funds at the moment that will in no way detour me from finding avenues to help support our soldiers. I may not have funds but I know how to network.

I have spent the last couple of days reading the forum and gleaning ideas to raise support for them. I have already contacted several people for thing I know these guys could use. And have a few more in mind.

 I guess I should join the junkie thread already because I read a post that mentioned getting samples at the hair salon and remembered I am related to someone who works in one and right to the phone I went ... I will have some stuff from there soon and also enlisted another person to gather stuff :)

I have already started some letters ... but I am a terrible letter writer if they need to be hand written and I feel these do. My brain always seems to work faster than my pen and there is no backspace :)

Slow off the mark I maybe ... but I will get there ... I am just gathering steam now

Chris -- Yep!  You are on your way -- another Junkie is born!!!   Networking and asking others to pitch in is something many of us do.  Don't be surprised if you wind up involving a whole community.  Ask your local schools if the children could do cards and drawings for the troops.  They LOVE to get these!  If you know of a residence for seniors, or an assisted living facility, contact the activities director.  I did, and the residents -- many of them Vets, and most of them visually impaired or affected by strokes -- made thank you/support cards.  They were DETERMINED to show their support and so appreciative to be asked.   

Now -- about this --

Proud Mom:

I have already started some letters ... but I am a terrible letter writer if they need to be hand written and I feel these do. My brain always seems to work faster than my pen and there is no backspace :)

We've had previous discussions about whether letters should be typed or handwritten.  Let me share with you a Soldier's thoughts on this.  This is from SGT Steve Nevels, who is one of my first contacts and is now HOME!!!  He joined our Forum, posting under Steve-0, and was tremendously helpful to us with all sorts of direct, on-the-ground info and guidance.  Here's what he had to say: 

 I hand write and type letters, and nobody has ever complained about the typed ones. I have 76 troops currently in my rolodex, and when you're writing to that many people, trust me, you just about HAVE to type them. When I get a letter from one of our heroes, I sit down and hand write a reply. Otherwise, Microsoft Word, here I come... For the Marines we're supporting, all their letters are sent via MotoMail - it's free, and that frees up money that would have been used on stamps to be used for other purposes. Some of our heroes prefer e-mail correspondence - can't hand write that...LOL! It's the message that counts, not how it is delivered. I think it's fantastic the means we have at our disposal these days to let our troops know they are loved and appreciated. In past wars, it was all snail mail. When my uncles were in Vietnam, it would take a couple of months sometimes for a letter to find them...and a couple more for their letters to reach home. I remember my Mama fretting and worrying because she never knew if her baby brothers were okay or not.

Type away, my friend!!

Hugs to you, Ms Tracy

I aways type my letters as well. I don't think that's a problem. Actually, it is more productive for me.  I'm more used to typing than writing. I don't think the soldiers care one way or another.  So, go put some icepacks on those slap mark and get to typing!!!

A good way to get started is to join Card Swap #5.  LOL

<stalking the newbies and lurkers>

You can find the thread here, http://forum.anysoldier.com/forums/t/7268.aspx  basically, you create and send 50 Christmas/holiday type cards to me, I mix them up in 50 piles and send them back to you.  You send them out to your contacts, old, or new.  We are still about 16 people short.  Please ask if you have any questions.  The cards are due to me by November 12th, so you have pleanty of time.  We could really use anyone who has not signed up. Please ask questions if you are interested!