Pinwheels for Peace - September 21, 2007
Our family became involved in supporting troops in war zones in May 2007.
Our daughter Rachel created a Spring Newsletter and listed a few things she wanted to do before her next birthday.
The most heart moving item on the list was to adopt a soldier.
In one afternoon she adopted a single soldier in Iraq and a group within a unit in Afghanistan.
Sunday, June 24, 2007 7:37 PM
Hello Dunns,
I just wanted to send you a note to tell you how much I appreciate you taking the time to write and send a package to the soldiers in my Combat Team.
Your support means the difference in some soldiers getting mail or package that they would not get.
Thanks,
Afghanistan soldier
A Soldier's Wish List
http://www.asoldierswishlist.org/
This link will allow you adopt one soldier for the duration of his/her time overseas. You can send letters or if you choose, fill the soldier's wish list.
This group requests that you follow through with supporting this soldier once a month until she/he leaves the combat zone and returns to the States.
Would you believe that letters are the #1 requested item by soldiers?
Any Soldier
http://anysoldier.com/index.cfm/
This link will allow you to mail to a group of soldiers. All branches of the armed forces are represented here.
One person will represent a group of soldiers and request items for the group.
You will be able to request an address for a particular group of your choosing.
Today's requests can be found at
http://www.anysoldier.com/WhereToSend//
Some of these request are as simple as snacks and baby wipes.
Items you cannot send
Obscene anything (art, cards, DVD/VHS, posters, etc). This includes nudies or partial nudes.
No religious items that are unfavorable to the Islamic faith.
Any pork or pork by-products. This includes SPAM, canned sausages, pork noodles - read the labels.
No alcohol. No firearms.
How to ship
We recommend the USPS -NEW- Flat Rate Box. 12" x 12" x 5 1/2"
For $10.95 you can ship any amount of weight to APO/FPO addresses.
![[special troop box]](images/USPSnewbox.200x175.jpg)
Seal your box well. It will be traveling a long way.
You will need to fill out Customs Form 2976-A
Completely detail contents (#1) - be complete, 100% accurate.
Assess a value (#5 and #6). Mark it as a gift (#11).
In Sender's Instructions (#17), mark 'Redirect to Address Below' and write Any Clergy.
This will reroute your package to any clergy member and then to another soldier in the event that your soldier is no longer at that unit.
The best source of shipping information and assistance is your local USPS employee.
We couldn't make this happen without them.
In our local office, we are so fortunate to have Moira and Faye to help us get our packages to our soldiers.
Shipping recommendations
No matter how much you may be tempted to put soap or body products in with cookies - don't do it!
How awful to receive a big box with your favorite cookies only to find that they taste like bath soap?
We ship edibles with office supplies, DVDs, magazines, etc.
We ship toiletries with office supplies, DVDs, magazines, etc.
Never mix edibles with the scented items or any toiletries.
Chocolate melts. It does NOT survive the shipping and heat extremities of war zones. Don't ship chocolates.
Will you hear back from your soldier?
Maybe. We have heard from the Afghanistan unit that we support but not the individual soldier in Iraq.
We keep in mind that day to day life in a war zone is that of survival so a letter in return seems a bit selfish.
The unit we support in Afghanistan will sometimes post photos as they have internet access.
We receive email and cards from that group thanking us for anything we do for them.
Many soldiers do not have email access.
If you have any questions, please contact us. This is new to us but we will try to assist you in any way we can.
Contact us at support_our_troops@jkellydunn.com
![[Rachel]](images/Pinwheels1.jpg)
![[Pinwheels]](images/Pinwheels2.jpg)
![[100 Pinwheels]](images/Pinwheels3.jpg)
![[special troop box]](images/USPSnewbox.jpg)