I was looking at the soldiers  names and saw where some are noted as being picked, chosen, don't remember the wording, different number of times.

Does that mean that those number of times someone has asked for their address to send to them?  A couple I looked at had 2 and some had as many as 30.  So does that mean that their address has been requested 30 times and so they will have approx 30 people sending them something?

How often also is the info updated on the items the soldiers are requesting?  I don't want to send something that they have a lot of, but then miss out on something that they desperately need.  I read one where the person said they had lots of female hygeine and not to send more.  However, could they run out and later need them?  Can they update the info to let whoever know that they are running low on items, please send them, or they have enough, so hold off for now?

I know that these are a lot of questions, but I don't want to send a box of razors and find out they needed foot powder, for example.

Janette

 

 The number of times address has been requested means exactly that...the address has been requested x number of times. That does NOT mean they will have that many people sending to them, however. For some reason, there are those who request then don't follow through. Or they may request an address of someone who happens to need an item the supporter has plenty of, and they only intend to send one package then drop that contact. So don't let the numbers lull you into thinking a particular group has lots of support, because maybe they don't at all.

The info is updated as often as the contact sends an update to the site. Some update quite frequently, others very rarely. The contacts get a notice from the AnySoldier staff when they have gone 50 days without updating, and a notice is posted on their profile that they haven't been heard from in 50 days. When 60 days have passed with no update, they are moved to the "old contacts file," and we are asked not to send anything further to that group. If you have a contact that has been dropped, but you have been hearing from them all along, you do NOT have to stop sending to them. Only the ones you haven't heard from should be dropped when they move into old contacts.

The answers to a lot of questions are under the "FAQ" tab; check the "How to Send," and "What to Send" tabs, also. You may also find the answers to a lot of your questions by reading the Forums. There's a lot of helpful information posted, and any number of Support Junkies willing to answer any questions you have that you can't find the answer to here.

 

When am I looking for someone to send support to, I try to determine who is asking, what is wanted, and for how many people. 30 address requests in response to a commander's post for a large group needing everything might not actually get enough for everyone, so I am sure more boxes would be welcome. If there are a lot of requests for a post by single person or someone representing just a few people, those might be plenty. However, if the post is asking for clothing or school supplies for local people or a clinic, the more who respond the better. I try to send something to every address I have requested, but sometimes I have slipped up. Occasionally, filling their requests took longer than expected and when I went to ship I found their address had a notice not to send - I recheck addresses before shipping. So, whatever I had packed went to someone else instead.