How To Support Our Troops with AnySoldier.com

August 10th, 2009

by Amy Stevens Adams

Last week I discovered a website called AnySoldier.com. It’s basically a site where our soldiers serving overseas can make requests for food and personal items that they need and want. You can search through the listings and get info like; what branch of the military they serve in, how many soldiers are in their unit (how many men, how many women), where they’re located, how long they expect to be there until returning home, what items they are requesting, and usually there is some personal info included in the listings as well. The way it works is one soldier from a unit will volunteer to be the contact person for AnySoldier and they collect the packages we send to them and distribute them to the soldiers in need or who don’t get packages or mail from home. The packages they get are addressed to them, “ATTN: Any Soldier”. I think this a great service as it boosts morale and helps keep our troops cared for.

It can be a bit confusing to send packages to our soldiers overseas, so I’ve broken down the process in simple steps. In this article I’ll tell you what I did, where I got my supplies, and how you can also send a care package.

First, my pictures….

Here’s the food I sent. Easy to cook in a microwave (which the troop I selected does have). They specifically requested beef jerky, EasyMac, Hot Sauce and individual drink mixes for water.

food

I Double-bagged the peanut butter and Hot Sauce in case they leaked.

bottles

warmdelights Since it is too hot to send chocolate or candy, I picked up some Betty Crocker Warm Delights. They are simple to make in the microwave, just add water to their little single-serving plastic container and zap for 30 seconds. You get an instant chocolate cake. I knew the guys didn’t have measuring spoons so I put a little note on each box letting them know that 4 plastic spoonfuls of water is the equivalent of what the directions call for, although I’m sure they would have figured that out…

I bought 3 boxes of Propel drink mixes. I decided not to waste valuable room in the box by leaving them in their boxes, so I combined them all in a ziplock bag. I wanted to cram as much stuff as possible into my care package.

propel

Here is my box (and customs form) from the Post Office BEFORE I stuffed it.

box & form

And here it is AFTER. Wow! 10 pounds!

packedbox

Now for the steps;

1. Go to Anysoldier.com and read through the listings on this page. You can choose a specific branch of the military if you’d like. John and I chose to send a package to Marines since John served in the Marines himself. We selected a unit of 8 men who were primarily requesting food items. The post said that 2 of the men where from Massachusetts and that was one of our deciding factors in selecting them, as we have something in common. One of the most important things our troops want are letters from home. John and I each included a letter in with our care package and it made it easier to write because from their listing we knew we had several things in common with them.

2. Get the address. Once you’ve chosen a troop to send your care package to, you’ll need to email AnySoldier.com for the mailing address. This is a security measure as addresses are not publicized on the website. However, you will get it via email within 5 minutes. Don’t request an address until you’re really committed to sending a package so that a troop doesn’t get neglected.

3. Make a list of what you’re going to send and go shopping. Keep a few things in mind when sending your care package;

*Don’t mix food and toiletries in the same box. It could be a disaster if a can of shaving cream leaked all over the boxes of crackers!

*Try not to send items that could melt, like candy or chocolate. Your package could take 3-4 weeks to be delivered and when it is delivered remember that it’s HOT over there.

*Send foods that won’t spoil and are easy to store, cook and eat. Most listing requests on AnySoldier.com will tell you what their living conditions are. If they don’t have a microwave, then don’t send foods that need to be cooked (like EasyMac and Ramen Noodles). If they don’t have a can opener, don’t send canned goods unless they have a pop-top. It is easy to forget these things because we are accustomed to the comforts of our home where we have all the basics. The unit we selected said they didn’t have a can opener, so not only did I not send any canned goods, but I did send them a can opener. There is always a chance the can opener could get confiscated in customs though, so I didn’t want to assume they’d have one and send canned foods they couldn’t eat.

*Double bag any bottles or jars in heavyweight Ziplock bags. If it can leak, it probably will.

*Try to think of things that accompany the food you’re sending. Soldiers may not always think to ask for things like plastic utensils and plates.

4. Go to your local Post Office and ask for (free) FLAT RATE Priority Boxes, Labels and Customs forms. If you plan on sending care packages on a regular basis (like John and I do), then you can go to usps.com and order Priority Boxes to be shipped to your house (completely free of charge), so you’ll have them for the future. Very important, be sure to only use FLAT RATE boxes. You’ll see why in a bit. Also, Thanks to the US Post Office, boxes shipped to an APO or FPO address cost the same as domestic shipments. This will save you some bucks.

5. Gather your supplies. Make sure you have your priority Boxes form the P.O., plus Customs forms, Priority Labels (all free from the P.O.) packaging tape, a couple standard envelopes, a pen and paper to write a letter to enclose with your care package, ziplock bags, extra newspaper or shopping bags to pad the box, and your items to send.

6. Box up your food (or toiletries, whichever you’re sending). Pack everything in tight. Write a letter to send with it (if you’ve got kids helping you with this project have them draw some pictures to send too). Include a couple self-addressed envelopes, paper and pens so the soldiers can write back to you. You are much more likely to get a response if you include the self-addressed envelopes. Ask them if there’s anything else they need. Include your email address too. Put the letter, envelopes, paper and pens in a ziplock bag on the top of the food and close up the box. Seal it well with packaging tape.

7. Fill out the Customs form. This is simple. Just your address, their address, what is in the box and how many of each item. Ignore all the other fields. Then sign and date at the bottom.

8. Address the box. Using the free Priority Mail labels provided by the P.O., address your package made out to the Soldier’s name who will be the contact person, then under their name put “ATTN: Any Soldier”, and then the address that was emailed to you from AnySolider.com. If the package you are sending is specifically for female soldiers, then fill it out the same way, but put “ATTN: Any Female Soldier” after the contact person’s name.

9. Head to the P.O. and mail your care package! A Flat Rate Priority Box will cost $11.95, no matter how heavy it is. When we shipped ours it weighed 10 lbs 7 oz. The clerk in the P.O. said it would have cost $32 to ship if I hadn’t packaged it in the Flat rate box! Very important to use the Post Office’s FLAT RATE boxes!

10. Smile all the way home knowing you’ve made a difference to our troops.

Something I thought of after I’d shipped our first box, if the troop you pick says they have a microwave, then micro popcorn would be a great thing to send. It doesn’t take up as much room in the box as other crackers and chips and they can pop it to have a warm, salty snack. I’ll be sending some in my next box for sure.

That’s it! It’s easier than you think and if you shop the sales at your local market or target you can fill up a box for under $20 and make some soldiers very happy!

-Amy Stevens Adams of Cape Cod Branding