No matter what your view on war is, it is impossible not to feel compassion for those troops on the front line. Those who are away from their families and friends and who risk their lives every single day. Years ago, when I was living in Australia I stumbled across the site Any Soldier. It is such an amazing service. Troops post requests for things they need and we send them care packages full of goodies to make their days a little easier.
I remember my first package that I sent vividly. I sent it from Australia so it cost a small fortune to send. It was a box full of all the sample sachets of creams/shampoos/gels that I would get as freebies in magazines and from sample mailings. I also sent some hotel toiletries that mum and dad kept. Anytime I would see a sample, I would keep it until I got a huge stash together. These things are easy for them to share and do not break/burst in transit or are at risk of melting.
Last year I decided it was time to do it again and we had a good lot of goodies ready to go. So I sent around an email at work to see if anyone else had stuff they may want to give. Toiletries are very popular and we had a stack of travel sized ones to giveaway. My colleagues bought in wide range of stuff for the group of sailors that I had picked. Even the little soy sauce, duck sauce and ketchup sachets worked a treat. When I sent the boxes off we got a thank you card back straight away from our guys who were based in Afghanistan. It is the best feeling ever! My sailor even sent me a Christmas card! These guys really are amazing.
The good news is – that group that we almost felt like we adopted with our care packages, have since returned home. I had more stuff ready to give sent so it was time to search for a new lot of troops. After some searching I found a large group that was perfect for us and so a few weeks ago I sent them their first parcel and then another three this week. I heard back from them the other night when I came home to a thank you note. I cannot tell you how it feels to know they took time out of their day to say thank you. That really sets the standard too… because if a soldier in Afghanistan can send a thank you note within a few days there is really no excuse!
Anyway, the whole process is so simple. USPS has special flat rate priority mail boxes and after a few times of filling out the customs forms and using Click and Ship it gets easier. Some people do big collections making purchases with coupons, other just share what they can or buy a few things when they are on sale. It is just about making their time away from home just a little bit more comfortable. From all of our vacations I kept all of the hotel toiletries out of habit now. I actually wondered what our guys thought receiving a whole lot of L’Occitane shower gels!
The most distressing part of the whole thing is reading what some of these brave men and women request. Simple things like crew socks, toothpaste, batteries and chapstick. These things that should not be deemed a luxury when you are fighting on the frontline, but sadly they are.
God Bless Them All.