Sunday & How You Can Help revisited

It has been awhile since I posted this info, and I have quite a few new readers lately, so I thought reposting might be a good idea. As you may or may not know, our younger daughter Lauren is in the Army and stationed in Iraq right now. She is a medic and is what the Army calls a “Point of Contact” which means she has volunteered to coordinate donations for the soldiers in her area. In addition, working at a hospital she sees lots of people pass through where she works. This includes everyone from our soldiers and Marines to soldiers from the multinational forces stationed there to Iraqi soldiers and civilians.

Earlier in her deployemnt, lots of people asked if they could send anything to help make life easier for Lauren and the others in her unit. I have had a few emails lately asking if more packages would be welcomed and I have noticed a couple inquiries on Lauren’s blog as well, so I though I would repost what you need to know. Please read all of this information carefully so that anything you send will actually get to people who need it. Including items that are not allowed or not having the address exactly correct could result in your package never getting there, because the regulations can be quite strict.
First the address:
Operation SOAP
345 Combat Support Hospital, ICW
Unit #73325
APO, AE 09333-3325

Operation SOAP is set up as a way for people to show thier appreciation and generosity to not only the people stationed with Lauren, but to the soldiers stationed over a wide area of Iraq, many of whom don’t have easy access to a PX.

First of all – please make to include a note that clearly says on the envelope or across the top: “Please give this note to Lauren”. Include an email address and be sure to tell her that you are coming from my blog [or hers]. She tries to acknowledge every package, though a few have gotten missed, for which she apologizes. They try to get the notes to her, but since she isn’t there to open all of the packages, some do get missed.

So what do they need?
All kinds of toiletries for both men and women. They do have some of this available in the PX, but quantities and variety are very limited. They would all enjoy some nice name brand items from back home.
Shampoo
Conditioner
Soap, Body Wash
Deodorant
Lotion
Shaving supplies
Toothpaste and Toothbrushes
Lip Balm
Dried Fruit
Ravioli, Dinty Moore Beef Stew, Spaghettios
Ramen Noodles
Kraft Mac & Cheese
Candy [not stuff that will melt in the heat]
Snacks [long shelf life is better]
shelf stable microwavable foods
Chocolate is in short supply, but here are few things that will survive:
Little Debbie Snacks
M&Ms and similar candy
Tootsie Rolls

What you cannot send:
anything with pork in it
explosives, including fireworks
large amounts of religious material [i.e. 1 bible is ok, 10 is not]
alcoholic beverages
porn

Boxes should be free of extraneous markings and if reused all info not pertaining to this shipment should be blacked out or covered with opaque tape. You can get flat rate boxes for free from the postal service – they will even send them to you – there is a special APO box that is $10.95 to ship regardless of weight. There are also other Priority Mail boxes available for free.

Thanks in advance. If you are interested in sending something to Lauren personally, please email me at dlynk at htva dot net, for her address.

have a great Sunday!