[Elfsea] FW: [Ansteorra-announce] Gathering and Sending Care Packages to ourService Man and Women

[Damon and Christine Huse]

Hola!

I will volunteer to head up this project for our Barony, but I can't do it
all myself.  Most of you know that my brother Scott was over there and we
feared every day that the military would show up at the door or we would
hear that "dreaded call" from his wife.

When Scott came back, he said it was absolutely awesome to recieve the care
packages we sent him.  But, he said there were many there who were estranged
from their families and never received a package.

If you would like to help, please let me know. Let's show Ansteorra that
Life is Good in Elfsea!

Maria

The following is a list of things the soldiers need:
Beanie Babies (they can give these to the children, which helps them make
allies)
Breakfast-type foods and drinks are the most needed.
Beefaroni, ravioli, spaghetti & meatballs, etc
Beef Jerky
Candy, gum, trail mix, etc.
Fruit, in the small flip top cans. (Put zip-top cans in a plastic bag!)
Cereal bars, granola bars, Special-K bars, etc.
Coffee, instant and regular, and filters.
Coffee cups. (metal, camping types are good.)
Coffee makers, hot plates.
Canned nuts.
Canned chips, like the potato sticks or the small canned Pringles, Doritos,
etc.
Decent can openers
Powdered drinks, pre-sweetened, Kool-Aid, Gatorade, etc.
Snacks, brownies,Lil Debbie, snack cakes, etc, nothing with icing that will
melt.
Soups, chunky, chicken, beef, etc.
Tuna, canned and packs.
Antibacterial wipes - lots of these!
Anti-fungal for their feet - athletes foot creme, foot powder - no aerosol
bottles.
Band Aids, cough lozenges, small packs of Kleenex, shower-to-shower powder.
Combs, paper, pens, envelopes, lip balm, eye drops, q-tips, nail clippers.
Eye drops - the cleaning kind - because of all the sand storms...(Put in
plastic bag!)
Flip flops - shower shoes - so they can air their feet out when they get a
break.
NO Flea Collars!!
Small containers of Tylenol, Motrin, etc.
Small tubes of toothpaste and toothbrushes, deodorant, soap, shampoo.
Sunscreen
Comics and paperback books, crossword puzzle books.
DVDs & CDs.
Game Boys, the ones your kids don't use anymore, and the games
Magazines.
Sports stuff (baseballs, footballs, old gloves, frisbees...)
Batteries, alkaline - Mostly AA-size, but some AAA
Batteries, rechargeable, and chargers - Mostly AA-size, but some AAA also.
Avon Skin-So-Soft Bug Guard, available here for 1/2 off sale.
DEET insect spray.
Disposable cameras.
Electrical items; Transformers, dual voltage appliances, plug adapters, etc
Fans. All kinds. Especially small, hand-held battery types. The kind with
sprayers are great.
Flashlights - small, black or dark green, AA battery.
Headlights (small flashlights worn on a helmit).
Maglite (flashlight) bulbs.
Music CD's. (Have a portable player you don't use anymore?)
Pens, paper, envelopes. (NO stamps! They get free mail.)
Phone Cards
Pillows,small or inflatable, self-inflating camping air mattress.
SpaceR "All Weather" blankets. (Find the ones with olive drab, tan or camo
on one side.)
SpaceR "Emergency" blankets. (These are much smaller, easy to keep.)
The Oxford Picture Dictionary: English/Arabic

-----Original Message-----
Greetings Ansteorra,

As many of you have heard and read in the last two weeks, one of our own;
Friedrich von Konigsberg, was killed while serving his country in Iraq.
One of the things that we learned from Friedrich's frequent emails home was
just how much receiving care packages meant to the soldiers serving in
Middle-East. Anything that these brave men and women get from home helps to
lift their spirits and reminds them that we appreciate their service.

In honor of Friedrich and his life, many of his friends have begun gathering
and sending care packages to the men and women who are serving in Iraq and
Afghanistan. This has lead people from Bryn Gwlad, where Friedrich lived, to
begin working as a group to gather and send care packages to our troops in
harm's way. I therefore invite, nay, challenge the other baronies, shires
and cantons in this great kingdom to do the same. How many groups out there
are willing to put forth just a little effort to let our soldiers and
marines who serve in hazardous duty know that we remember and appreciate
them? All you need is one or two people from each group to coordinate the
effort of collecting the donations, then boxing and shipping it - everyone
else can just drop off donated items at fighter practice or populous
meetings. It's that easy.

What's that? You don't know what to send or where to send it? That's not a
problem - just have your group's coordinator contact us at the email address
below, and we'll tell you all that you need to know. Furthermore, we'll keep
a tally of the groups who are joining in this effort and sing each group's
praise on these lists and in as many courts as possible.

We often speak of heroes in the SCA, and sing their praises. Well now we
have the chance to honor true heroes - the men and women who have
voluntarily placed themselves in harm's way in order to help keep us safe.
Come on, Ansteorra, let's do what little we can to honor and support these
heroes!

Thank you,
Sir Pendaran & Mistress Jehanne