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HELPING TROOPS: A TASTE OF HOME |
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Written by Steve Sanson
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Saturday, 16 December 2006 |
Web sites offer help in brightening a service member's holiday
Sgt. 1st Class Chris Tovar, formerly of Las Vegas, is shown (above and below) on duty in Iraq. Tovar is one of more than 150,000 service members serving in Iraq.
Photos courtesy of Lauren Tovar.
If you want to send a holiday gift to a member of the military serving in Iraq or Afghanistan but have no idea what to buy or who to send it to, donating money to a service organization is a good place to start, said the Marine Corps League's Cheryl Gardner.
The league, which recently completed Operation Christmas Stocking and mailed out 496 packages to Marines in Iraq, is still taking donations of money or gifts, said Gardner, adjutant for the league's department of Nevada.
She plans to continue sending out holiday packages up to Dec. 11, she said.
A donation of as little as $8.10 is enough to mail out one flat-rate package weighing as much as 25 pounds, she said. Or, you can assemble a package and drop it off at the Leatherneck Club, 4360 Spring Mountain Road. t
Reading materials, except for pornography, make a great gift, as do music CDs, DVDs, video games and game systems, sweat shirts and snack foods, Gardner said. DVDs of new movies and television shows are in high demand, because some troops are on their second or third rotations and need new things to watch. Blank CDs for recording downloaded music also are popular. Hard candies, foot powder, cosmetics for women, socks and T-shirts are all good gifts, too.
It's OK to send just about anything, with the exception of aerosol cans, she noted.
As long as you have an address, Gardner said, she will get the package to the service member no matter what branch they're in.
If you don't know a service member, you can easily find one by going online to one of several Web sites that enable people to adopt a troop, she said.
Unless you know someone serving in Iraq, military organizations will not give out the address of a service member serving overseas, said April Conway, spokeswoman for the Nevada Army National Guard. The Department of Defense canceled the Any Service Member program and all mail must be addressed to a specific person.
Mailing a package or letter to a service member serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom costs the same as domestic rates through the United States Postal Service.
Web sites such as Treats for Troops are invaluable sources because they enable anyone to foster a troop, give a group gift or shop for someone they already know, she said. You can purchase everything from a complete holiday meal to a stocking stuffed with hot chocolate packages and phone cards (www.treatsfortroops.com).
The USO offers people a chance to sponsor a care package for a donation of $25. The package includes items such as phone cards, toiletries, sunscreen and other items (www.usocares.org/src/uso_home.htm).
Anyone can purchase gift certificates through the Army Air Force Exchange Service, which will be given randomly to troops in Iraq (www.aafes.com/index.html). The gift certificates are good at any AAFES store in the world.
Anysoldier.com provides suggestions on what to send in care packages and where to send them. One suggestion is a personal letter, even one addressed "Dear Soldier," Gardner said.
Originally Published in the Las Vegas Review Jorunal
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Last Updated ( Saturday, 16 December 2006 )
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