Mimisharon wrote "As the mother of a soldier serving "over there" I can assure you that the men appreciate ANY and ALL signs of support from home!"

Is there any reason we could not get together and support the soldiers that are loved in this group? If anyone is wanting to send cookies and stuff over there, we could send them to the sons, husbands, etc., of our beloved group, and still sew quilts and such for all the other sites mentioned. All for one and one for all!

that's a beautiful and extremely thoughtful idea.

use a Private Message to contact the individual quilters who identify themselves as family of deployed military. Let them decide whether or not to share his/her mailing address. Or whether to give you theirs so you can send things to be included in packages they are sending.

i would discourage any other method. there is at least one person here who sent a very negative and hurtful PM to a soldier's mom on this board. we don't want to give her or anybody else the opportunity to send hate directly to the soldiers.

let the Love flow ...

:P

Anyone wanting to send things to my son's unit can PM me, I'll share the address. I just want to be sure there's no 'hate mail' going over there.

Jim's Mom,
Sharon

I cannot imagine who would want to send hate mail like that. They must not be a real human being. Let the rest of us make up for that show of very bad manners. I'm starting to get a package together today, and I challenge all of you to do the same :!: .

I am ready, just let me know details.

Would it be a good idea also to ask the family what it is each soldier over there would really like in a care package and what to send. Cookies are great, and I am sure appreciated but if each person knew what they would really like and need, that too could be included in the package. Think? If not please disregard..

Rita

It would be good to know what to send. If any one has suggestions, please post them here. If anyone has a particular soldier that they want to "adopt", then they can contact the family member and ask specificaly what to gather. Also, I think postage is very expensive, so please plan on shouldering that expense, instead of giving that to the family. They probably already have a big postage expense of their own. This is going to be a FEEL GOOOOOD project! :D

My nephew in Iraq asked for water flavorings, like kool-aid or lemonade. He said the water tasted bad. He also said snacks like candies, peanuts, and flavored seeds, like sesame and pumpkin seeds that they can carry around would be appreciated. I also sent him deo,body wash and razors. He really appreciated everything and so did his friends.

Absolutely a good idea. Family will know what the individual soldier has been asking for and needs most.

Before you send anything, though, we need to talk about things you are not allowed to send to soldiers deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq. It's important to stick to the rules so nobody gets in trouble on either end. NOTHING THAT CONTAINS PORK OR PORK BY-PRODUCTS; NO ALCOHOL; NO TOBACCO; NOTHING CONTRARY TO THE ISLAMIC RELIGION. In regard to the religious restrictions - no matter how you feel about it - the best thing you can do for the soldier is to not include anything that could be interpreted as religious.

Refer to this US Post Office link for more information: http://usgovinfo.about.com/library/weekly/aatroopmail.htm

They are always in need of really good insect repellant. (The stuff they get issued doesn't work very well.) Look in the hunting equipment department for the best stuff. Compare the ingredients and send the strongest stuff you can afford.

Everybody needs a teddy bear, don'tcha think? I sent a big boxful to a friend of mine in a Marine unit once. Just little stuffed animals I got at WalMart for under $1 each. They loved it! I made sure to always include a few in every box i sent from then on.

For the best ideas, check this link: http://anysoldier.com/
You'll get to see what soldiers tell us they need most and lots of good information that will help make the experience feel good for everybody.

There is a lady here in Eureka that makes up care packages to send to the soldiers. The name of the program is 'Socks for Soldiers'. This program started when she heard that the military men and women needed socks. Of course the boxes hold a lot more now. This program has evolved over the last few years.

My daughter (my son-in-law is in the army and they were stationed in Qatar at the time) asked me to send hard candies that could be carried in pockets for the soldiers to hand out to the kids. The men and women over there are very appreciative of anything that is sent to them.

This might sound dumb, but how much do you send if you don't know of anyone over there?

While our oldest son was deployed last year, we found the "one rate" boxes from the post office worked best for us. With these boxes it doesn't matter how much it weighed, it was still the same price. If you know what you're sending is heavy, then you might want to consider this. The post office have certain boxes that are used for this. If you don't see them, be sure to ask for them.(We even sent a horseshoe set to him-boy, did we get our money's worth on that box!!) :wink:

Thanks to everyone who keeps our servicemen/women and their families in your thoughts and prayers.

is it not true that when sending items overseas that they need to go to a specific person not "just any soldier" for security reasons?We made a bunch of 'gators" for soldiers (necks scarfs made from very soft streatchable fleece,that could be pulled overe the face for protection from cold and biting sandstorms) but the mother of the soldier who started the project said they were only allowed to send packages over there as long as they went to a specific person,
Is this still true?

yes, that is still true. there are individual soldiers who sign up at a website ( www.anysoldier.com ) to be points of contact to whom you can mail packages to be passed out to any soldier in their unit.

The suggestions in this thread, however, are that members of this board get in touch with other members who have identified themselves as friend or family of deployed military. They will either give you their address and forward your gifts to their soldier, or they will get the soldier's permission to release his/her mailing address at the forward station. "Any Soldier" restriction does not apply. All the other rules about what we can send do still apply. See my previous post for basic information and links to more detailed official information from the post office.

when you get in touch with the individual quilter who has a deployed loved one, she/he will give you good ideas about what the soldier needs and how much.

Reference the One Rate Box idea ... here's a link to the post office if you want to buy one or more of them

http://shop.usps.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10001&catalogId=10152&productId=11699

Just a "feel good" note....At my guild meeting tonight, one of our members had a "show & tell" quilt that her son's cub scout troop made for "an injured soldier". These boys are 4th graders -- they sewed the blocks (rail fence) and she sewed them together & finished the quilt. They also made a book to go with it that will have a group picture of them all on the front, and pages with pictures of them working on the quilt, etc. Isn't that just the coolest thing?!!? :D

It truly is. Kids have big hearts.

My sister and I have been trying to find out about the "Quilts for Valor" program. Do any of you know about this and how you make contact with a local group.

(This is a group of quilters who make quilts for our wounded soldiers in the hospital. A quilt is given to them to keep.)

I picked my soldier and have started gathering stuff to send. Does anyone know if the cooler neck scarves have to be certain colors???

Barb C provided this website.
http://www.qovf.org/

I got this information from anysoldier.com

T-Shirts must be Brown for Army and Navy, Green for Marines, Black or Brown for Air Force.

Marine boot socks are black. White athletic socks for PT and sometimes under the boot socks. Scarves are not authorized unless issued, but this is normally 'command discretion'. Beanie caps are not issued but are often worn under a helmet at night, must be dark color.

not sure if the "scarves not authorized" refers to just the marines. my guess would be that any scarves sent should match the t-shirt colors.

The brown t-shirts the army wears are not dark brown. they are a medium sandy-brown, similar to this block, perhaps a bit "greyer" in tone.

Holy smoke! it just hit me. the guy i'm going out with is a soldier. he's been to Iraq twice and will be going again soon. Why don't I just ask him? Duuuuh. LOL

I'll let you know what else i find out about colors, etc.

Quilting for our soldiers is something near and dear to my heart. I am new to this forum and am so happy to find this particular thread. Thank you.

I will tell you that my son's unit is allowed to wear the neck coolers and that they appreciate the Army colors or the new camo colors best.

Extreme Quilter, I'm waiting for my son to arrive on R&R any minute (he was in Kuwait Saturday waiting for a flight) I'll answer your pm then. I appreciate your kind words!!

Would anyone wanting to send things please include your snail address and name. I want to protect "my guys" as much as possible. There are 50 men that work for my son.

Thank you each and every one, no matter what you decide or who you send things to. If you add the US military, all over the world to your daily prayers every mother of a military person will be grateful because voices raised in prayer make the difference in this life!

God love you each and every one,
Sharon

When my son was in Kuait there were certian things that I could not send. Please check with the PMM (Proud Military Mom) before deciding what to send.

Loves_2_quilt

just a thought for anyone esle interestied in these boxes . The post office will ship them to you for free with preprinted labels if you request. I use these alot when my husband was there and now that my oldest sone is there.

As an Army wife with a husband has gone to Iraq twice and a Proud mom of a soldier who is over there now. I am more than willing to help out where i can. I am currently in Germany myself so shipping from here for me is free sinse it is APO to APO. So please let me know if there is anyhting i can do from here.

I also wanted to let you know that as i read this sight i wanted to cry for all the love and support that flowed from these messages. It is very endearing to my heart.

Thank you all,

Hi ya'll. I am relatively new to this forum, but a specific question was asked by Bonita - yes I am very familiar with the QOV program. My son received a quilt from this organization, I have made one, and my quilting sisters here in my local quilt guild have made four. You can check out their website at www.qovf.org. They are a great group and if you have any questions, you can ask me and if I don't have the answer, I will find out for you.

I do know that at Walter Reed, the chaplain blesses each quilt before an injured military member receives it. While I was there with my son, I did see a lot of these quilts being loved by many of the soldiers there.

There are just a few "no-no's" - the size should be no larger than a lap size, no "rag" or fringe type quilts, and all quilts must be washed and dried prior to shipping. These are just a few things to keep in mind. I read somewhere that a Girl Scout troop made a quilt for a local soldier that had lost his sight - Every block was a different texture.

Sorry to ramble. This is just dear to my heart.

God Bless,
Lynne
PAM (Proud Army Mom!) of Jim

Lynne, I may have misunderstood QOV's guidelines, but I thought they were only interested in twin size quilts and did not want the smaller lap size quilts. Up to now, I have not participated because quilting a twin size quilt is too difficult and cumbersome since I do not have a long arm. If they DO want lap size quilts, I can start churning them out and sending them to them.

Extreme Quilter is right, they prefer the twin size quilts. Lap quilts may be need at Walter Reed or any of the military hospitals that are receiving injured. They have some in wheel chairs but what most of the organizations want are homemade quilts, blankets in twin size to give the guys in the wards to keep their spirits up.

If you are making them for specific units in Iraq serving, they should be only twin size as they have bunks or cots to sleep on only.

Sharon
Proud mom of James
Proud aunt of Michael

if you prefer to make just the tops, QOV will match you with a volunteer long-arm quilter.

http://www.qovf.org/getting_a_longarmer

to review size and fabric recommendations, go to this page.
http://www.qovf.org/quilt_topper_whats_expected

they do accept oversized laps (as small as 50" x 60") i've emailed to ask and was told they absolutely insist on 100% cotton. ("The blends just don't cut it. If you have difficulty getting fabric, let me know. We have people who are swimming in it.")

personally, i can't relate to the slavish, nose-in-the-air, unquestioning worship of 100% cotton. don't know about anybody else but i have some blends in my stash (GASP!!!). :shock:
hey! they're pretty, they were inexpensive, they'll take a beating, and they don't shrink. so hush now and leemee 'lone. 8)

but it's for a good cause, so i won't argue with her about it. (quick!!! somebody get smelling salts for Kathy! I'll bet she just fainted.)

Kathy wasn't the only one who fainted!! :D

i thought i heard clunking noises from all 50 states. LOL

and i haven't quit laughing since i woke up (the thought of patrice not argueing just cracks me up)

it is a great deal of stress and strain, i must admit. popped a bra strap already. :shock:

does your boss know you've been sleeping on the job all morning?

Thank you so much for responding to my question! My sister and I have collected some patriotic prints that were on sale and wanted to use them for this.

Bonnie