dear family, addy pm-d me about this idea to adopt a soldier and i think it's a wonderful, generous and loving idea! she will be able to fill ya'll in on the details and i will be support. if you want to do this, please make sure you can commit to sending your soldier a letter weekly and a care package or 2 once a month. really ya'll, it's the least we can do for them. maybe, they will feel the love from the smack family and it will help them hang on and keep their sanity. we will be representing godsmack and the smack family so please join ONLY if you will follow through. addy has it all set up to make it easier for everyone to adopt and send letters. she's gone to quite a bit of trouble to set this up and we will work out any issues along the way quickly so it goes as smoothly as possible. let's show our soldiers we care about them and appreciate them. let's show them the power of the smack family!! ya'll know the miracles we can do when we pull together cuz the smack family is magical! your turn addy!!
When the war in Iraq first began everywhere you looked you seen signs asking for donations for care packages for soldiers. The support was everywhere. Time has passed and our soldiers seem to slowly be fading from peoples minds. I want to let them know that we do still support them, think of them, and pray for their safe return. Let's not let one soldier feel unloved.
I would like for the Smack Family to adopt one soldier. We as a team will collectively care for him/her. We will be sending a letter to our soldier at least once a week. This does not mean each person has to send a letter a week, if we all work together than we can divide the letter writing up. The only requirements when writing a letter is to remember that the soldier has a lot on his/her mind and is very busy and stressed. It is best to not air your problems, just tell him/her who you are and write about positive things that are going on and don't forget to thank them for what they do for us. We can vent our negativities here. Since we, as a family, will be working together I will be sure the soldier knows how to find us on the boards. So be sure to include your board name in your letters. There are no guarantees that we will ever hear from our soldier because they are so busy, but just incase he/she does ever visit the boards they will recognize your name. Even if they never respond, they do appreciate the thoughtfulness and it was probably because they just did not have time. If you are interested in helping with the letters you can email them to me at Smack_Family_Soldier@hotmail.com. I will print them and I will mail them for you. So all you will invest is a few minutes of your time. I will cover the postage for the letters.
Care packages will also be sent once or twice a month. I am shooting for twice a month so keep that in mind. It doesn't have to be much, maybe some snacks or drinks. I will post a list of needed and wanted items for you to reference. When you are at the store you could pick something up for the packages then ship it to me and I will make sure everything is mailed out together. Again, I will cover all the cost to ship the packages to our soldier.
I know that some people can't afford to help with the care packages, but please still feel free to help with the letters. Everyone can participate in this....we can find jobs for everybody. However, if you can and are willing to contribute to the care package PM me and I will give you my mailing address so you can begin getting the items to me.
I am wanting to send the packages out on the 1st and 15th of each month. Having set dates will help keep things running more smoothly, I think.
If you have any questions let me know. And thanks everyone for your help.
This message has been edited. Last edited by: Addy D.,
Not to make it any harder on you Addy, but is it possible to set up some kind of Paypal account to where we can contribute money, so the shopping can be done by you? I am not lazy, and not wanting to do the shopping....I just really hate the post office, and I am thinking of saving on shipping costs so MORE items can be purchased directly from you. Just an idea.
Here is a sample of items for the care packages....just pick one or two a month to send. The bold items are the most requested from the soldiers. And most of these items can be found at a local dollar store too.
Suggestions for Care Packages are:
Food Items Beef Jerky Instant Soups Chex Mix Nuts Trail Mix Chips Doritos Salsa Gum Microwave Popcorn Breath mints Dried fruit Canned fruit (pop tops) Granola/cereal bars Dry cereal Tuna packs Chicken packs Spices, condiments Summer sausage Snack Cakes Easy Mac and Cheese Sunflower Seeds Instant coffee Hot chocolate mix Tea bags Gatorade powder Kool aid (w/sugar) Easy cheese Pudding cups Instant Oatmeal Instant grits Ramen noodles Ragu Express Juice Boxes
Toilet Articles Sunscreen Chapstick Insect Repellant Eye Drops Cough/cold meds Advil/Tylenol Toilet Paper Deodorant Toothbrush Toothpaste Body wash Shampoo Conditioner Dental floss Mouthwash Bar soap Laundry soap Gel innersoles Cotton balls Q-tips Contact lens cleaner Hand sanitizer After Shave Lotion Cologne Feminine hygiene products Brush Comb Hairspray Hair gel Hairbands/clips Nail clippers Nail file Nail polish Body powder Foot powder Body lotion Kleenex Nasal Spray Antacids Socks Undershirts Underwear Disposable razors Shave gel/foam
Other Items Antibacterial Wipes Cooling bandanas Clorox wipes Plain black sunglasses Sand Scarf Frisbee Nerf balls, etc. Beach toys Beach balls Electronic games Playing cards AT&T Phone cards CD Player CD's DVD's Books Magazines Water guns Envelopes and paper Sewing kits Small mirror Wash cloth Towel Small flashlight or booklight Disposable camera Batteries Zip lock bags Cigarettes Copenhagen Word puzzles Board games Mister bottles Plastic silverware
Originally posted by WitchyWomanM: Not to make it any harder on you Addy, but is it possible to set up some kind of Paypal account to where we can contribute money, so the shopping can be done by you? I am not lazy, and not wanting to do the shopping....I just really hate the post office, and I am thinking of saving on shipping costs so MORE items can be purchased directly from you. Just an idea.
That would totally be up to you guys. I don't mind handling it that way if it is okay with Snipe of course, cause I don't wanna get snipe-smacked for trying to do summin good. So you all think about it and let me know.
Originally posted by WitchyWomanM: Not to make it any harder on you Addy, but is it possible to set up some kind of Paypal account to where we can contribute money, so the shopping can be done by you? I am not lazy, and not wanting to do the shopping....I just really hate the post office, and I am thinking of saving on shipping costs so MORE items can be purchased directly from you. Just an idea.
That would totally be up to you guys. I don't mind handling it that way if it is okay with Snipe of course, cause I don't wanna get snipe-smacked for trying to do summin good. So you all think about it and let me know.
I admire you two for taking a stand and doing something for my family over there. Just a few days ago a dear friend of mine that I work with in the pharmacy deployed to Bhalad, (I think). But like I said, thank you for actually DOING something for them. It's funny how some people can say they support our troops by sticking a yellow ribbon on their car. How is that supporting us?? Sending them some goodies and comfort foods from home can do more for them than any stupid yellow magnet on a car.
I've worked with quite a few people who have sons and daughters over seas and have heard of all the difficulty it can be to send packages and get what they need to them. This is great that you're doing this because now our men and women over there will have a better chance of getting new socks and the what nots instead of hoping a family member can make it through the post office and get it sent.
Wendy, correct me if i'm wrong, but i've heard that socks are in great need...socks and foot stuff...like inserts for the boots and maybe even the sport itch powder. Remember these guys are in their boots for days on end and don't always have clean socks or time to let their feet air out like we do at night.
As well, when I worked at the pharmacy we would have parents of soldiers come in to fill their prescriptions that they didn't get refilled before they left because they were deployed before they were eligible to have it refilled. We would ship meds for parents then because usps, ups, and fedex seem to give civilians a hard time if they try to send meds, but if it came from a pharmacy it was different...i guess more valid. Eitherway, whatever we could do to help.
Sadly, at this moment, I'm not sure that I'd be able to commit the $$ to help but if we keep this up(which i assume we will) I'm sure I'll be able to help at some point.
Live every day as though it's your last and dance like no one's watching!
Posts: 1502 | Location: Illinois | Registered: April 05, 2006
My kids and I adopted a soldier last year and next thing we know we were contacted and asked to stop for this particular person. I have no idea why but, I hope all went well. We have moved since then I am searching my computer for any info on him just to see if he'sok maybe I can google his name or summin.
This is a great idea and I will participate.
Posts: 2707 | Location: If I only knew | Registered: June 22, 2006
First let me introduce our soldier......his name is
Mike Dale
Kat, Witchy, Angie, PG.......thanks for helping with this important project. The first thing you could do is write a letter to introduce yourself to Mike. Just tell him something about yourself, something positive, just anything to let him "escape" Iraq if even for only a few minutes.....
PG- Please don't worry about the $$. If you can write letters to him that would be a HUGE help. Just email them to me at Smack_Family_Soldier@hotmail.com. I will print it and mail it for you.
Addy I can help out by sending them letters. As for the care packages Im gonna have to pass on that as of right now, but I cam willing to send them letters and maybe even write some poems for them. Your taking care of the postage and sending them right?
Originally posted by ~ReAligned~: Addy I can help out by sending them letters. As for the care packages Im gonna have to pass on that as of right now, but I cam willing to send them letters and maybe even write some poems for them. Your taking care of the postage and sending them right?
Yep. Just email them to me Anthony and I will make sure Mike gets them. And don't forget to put your board name on the letter too....thanks for you help with this.
