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The high school I work for is starting a collection contest next week of items needed for our men and women serving overseas. Here is what I have heard about this event so far. Each grade level will be collecting various items, which are assigned different point values, from a list. I have not seen this list as of yet but I did hear that the highest point values would be given to letters written to the troops. At the end of the contest, collected items are to be sent to our soldiers and the class with the highest number...

Students at Howenstine High Magnet School will be collecting donations for troops serving in Afghanistan as part of Make a Difference Day. But the students' efforts are not a one-day deal. Instead, Corrine Blum's service learning class decided to adopt a Marine unit as a yearlong project. They sent a box of letters and personal items to the troops last month and are now planning to adopt an Army unit. The project began when Blum told her students she was planning to send a package to a family friend serving in Afghanistan. She asked her students if they wanted to...

KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan, Oct. 15, 2009 – In a country where fewer than 30 percent of people are considered literate, U.S. forces are working to help in rebuilding Afghanistan’s education system, which has been devastated from 30 years of war, anti-education politics and an unstable government. Soldiers with the 649th Regional Support Group are helping children like this boy from a village in the Deh Chopan district of Afghanistan’s Kandahar province. The soldiers are distributing backpacks filled with school supplies in the province, where many children do not have the resources to attend school. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Elisebet...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 1, 2009 – Sometime around Thanksgiving some troops in Iraq and Afghanistan will receive boxes filled with gifts from a women’s group in Alexandria, Va. A child’s card stands among donated items at an Alexandria, Va., service project to fill boxes for troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, Sept. 26, 2009. Courtesy photo by Wendi Maney   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. For the first time in 15 years of doing fall service projects, the Mount Vernon Relief Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints donated granola and energy bars, mints, toothbrushes, toothpaste and other...

Several requests from our men and women in the field asking for basic care packages. Support as you can.

An Iraqi Policeman gives a soccer ball to a young boy in Tarmiyah, north of Camp Taji, July 29. Photo by Maggie White, Multi-National Division - Baghdad. CAMP TAJI — More than 2,000 children from the Tarmiyah area received soccer balls and school supplies, July 29, thanks to a combined effort between the 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team (Independence), Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) and the Iraqi Ministry of Education. In the past, the Independence Brigade Soldiers and their ISF counterparts have facilitated many school drops under the Junior Hero program, but the Future Hero program took things to the next...

JOINT BASE BALAD — Airmen and Soldiers here aided in fostering strong relationships with Iraqi citizens by preparing and delivering donations from a stateside fraternity to be given to Iraqi children who live near the base, July 14-15. The Pennsylvania State University chapter of the social fraternity Phi Kappa Tau supports programs which increase the quality of life for terminally ill children. Through their program Kicks 4 Kids, along with some inquiring by Capt. Craig Bryan, Expeditionary Aeromedicine Squadron psychologist and PKT alumnus, they were able to collect approximately 300 soccer balls to be distributed to Iraqi children via the...

Capt. Jason Glanovsky of the 727th Expeditionary Air Control Squadron loads soccer balls into boxes to be distributed to Iraqi children living near Balad, July 15. U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Christopher Hubenthal. JOINT BASE BALAD — Airmen and Soldiers here recently received donations for Iraqi children who live near this base from a stateside fraternity.  The Pennsylvania State University chapter of the social fraternity Phi Kappa Tau supports programs to increase the quality of life for terminally ill children. Through their program Kicks 4 Kids, along with some inquiring by Capt. Craig Bryan, Expeditionary Aeromedicine Squadron psychologist...

Navy Lt. Lawrence Sproul (center), Petty Officer 1st Class Jennifer Nolen and Lt. Cmdr. John Brooks (right), all of the Multi-National Force - West Health Services Section, look through a care package sent by Sproul's son's kindergarten class, June 16. Photo by Cpl. Meg Murray, II Marine Expeditionary Force (Fwd). AL ASAD AIR BASE — Things have changed throughout Operation Iraqi Freedom, but one thing has not – the support U.S. citizens show their forward-deployed servicemembers. Troops with Multi National Force - West, stationed in Anbar province, continue to daily receive thank-you notes, care packages and well-wishes from places like...

Send me a FR Mail and I will start the process to hook you up to be on the Free Republic Team to send goodies to the Troops fighting for our safety and freedom!Check out this thread: Free Republic Joins The Troopathon BLOGGER SHOOTOUT Competition! Friday, June 19, 2009 6:04:32 PM · by Syncro · 4 replies · 101+ views Troopathon BLOGGER SHOOTOUT ^ | June 19, 2009 | "Captain" Syncro And this one LIVE From Ronald Reagan Presidential Library Thursday, June 11, 2009 10:51:36 PM · by Syncro · 15 replies · 316+ views Move America Forward ^ |...

From the Front Page of Free Republic: MAF's 2nd Annual Troopathon! Announcing MAF's Second Annual "HONOR THEIR SERVICE" Care Package Program and TROOPATHON!! Webcast LIVE from the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, June 25, 2009, hosted by Andrew Breitbart and Melanie Morgan, featuring Ann Coulter, Mark Levin, Sean Hanity, Rush Limbaugh, Laura Ingraham and many other FReeper favorites! Free Republic will be there!! Syncro is the FreeRepublic.com Team Captain for the Troopathon BLOGGER SHOOTOUT competition and we will also be joining the MAF Team at the Reagan Library! Hope to see you there! Click the Troopathon.org banner to sponsor a care...

Just Confirmed: Gary SiniseKelsey GrammerElisabeth HasselbeckRoger Hedgecock Click Here for a Complete List of Guests On June 25th, Move America Forward will be holding our 2nd annual “Troop-a-thon” titled “Honor their Service.” This cutting edge live webcast event brings together talk radio hosts, megastars of film and television, musical guests, journalists, military and Gold-star families, pro-troop groups and many more. The goal of this charity fundraiser is to send the largest ever shipment of care packages to our brave men and women of the armed forces serving in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Guantanamo Bay. Viewers are encouraged to sponsor care...

SIERRA VISTA — The Huachuca Area Republican Women’s Club will be having a collection for troops in Afghanistan on Monday. The collection will take place at their luncheon at the Windemere Hotel and Conference Center. The event begins at 10:30 a.m. “After our successful donation of money for phone cards to our military in Iraq, we decided we wanted to do more,” said Vera Hylsky, the club’s president. They were told donations would soon be needed for troops and Afghanistan. Toiletries, snacks and games are a few of the requested items. Anyone interested in donating or attending the luncheon should...

WASHINGTON, March 31, 2009 – Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus recently presented a $12,636 check to American Recreational Military Services to help the troop-support group ship care packages overseas to deployed servicemembers. The check included a $10,000 donation and a portion of the circus’s four opening-night proceeds from performances in New Jersey and New York earlier this month. “We had been scrambling for months to cover costs as donor fatigue and the economic decline had cut into our donations,” Ronnie Micciulla, executive director at American Recreational Military Services, said. “The average cost for shipping an individual box...

This is a program that sends monthly "care packages" to our soldiers in Forward Operating Bases (F.O.B.s) in Iraq and Afghanistan. They typically do not have local base exchanges or any other access to menial personal items (such as snacks, minimal hygiene items, personal health items). We work directly with Platoon Leaders, Chaplains, Sergeants, and squad commanders to coordinate our efforts and provide the support to those who do not receive packages and mail from home. The average age of the soldiers we support is less than 22 years old. Unclassified pictures have been sent to us and are attached...

The underwear drive didn't surprise members of the congregation at Desert Skies United Methodist Church. They are used to helping out, and underwear was just the latest request from the overseas soldiers. It's all part of Desert Skies' involvement with the national Adopt-a-Chaplain program. The congregation has been involved since 2006, when a group of its women decided to come up with a mission. "We thought about what's significant about our community, and the first thing we thought about was the military," said Jennifer Stivers, 32. Stivers said churchgoers researched Adopt-a-Chaplain and are now helping their third chaplain, Capt. Vincent...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 22, 2009 – A long holiday weekend usually means a new flood of care packages to troops serving overseas, and traditionally those boxes include snack foods such as peanut butter crackers or candy. In light of the growing salmonella outbreak linked to products containing peanut butter, servicemembers are being urged to use caution should they receive these types of snacks. “The ongoing commitment and efforts of citizens to remind the troops that America supports them is phenomenal,” a Defense Department community relations spokeswoman said. “Based on my knowledge of the nonprofit groups that send care packages, I'm...

Michelle Obama is pitching in to help create thousands of care packages for U.S. troops. In keeping with President-elect Barack Obama's call for a national day of community service on Monday, the eve of his inauguration, Michelle Obama and Jill Biden, the wife of Vice President-elect Joe Biden, traveled to RFK Stadium in Washington to help assemble the care packages. Obama daughters Malia and Sasha also helped out.

On the road with the Honoring Heroes at the Holidays Tour going through Texas today.Time is short, so I'm going to post some pictures and info from internal correspondence HELP KEEP OUR PRO-TROOP BUS TOUR ON THE ROADOnly a few days left to collect care packages for our troops We left early this morning from our Super 8 Motel in Fort Stockton, Texas, heading to San Antonio and Austin for rallies today.   The MAF team working around the clock on the bus The Wal Mart stores in Texas have been great to us in allowing us to conduct our rallies right...

MAF Announcing Honoring Heroes at the Holidays IIMove America Forward is thrilled to announce that we are bringing back Honoring Heroes at the Holidays to honor our troops again this Christmas and holiday season! Last year, MAF introduced Honoring Heroes at the Holidays and traveled to cities all over the country. We were so excited by the results that we had to do it again for 2008! Our troops deserve to know that we love and appreciate them! Starting December 13th, we’ll once again be hitting the road to take our message to the people of America who want to...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 5, 2008 – A little piece of Christmas has started to arrive in Iraq and Afghanistan for troops away from home during the holidays. Deployed troops share their Christmas stockings with children. Operation Give, a troop-support group, sent more than 20,000 stockings to troops in Iraq and Afghanistan as part of its annual Operation Christmas Stocking collection. Courtesy photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Operation Give’s annual Operation Christmas Stocking collection has sent more than 20,000 Christmas stockings to troops -- with more on the way. “Even in hard times, if we can find a way...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 24, 2008 – Mannheim Steamroller, the recording group famous for putting a new twist on traditional Christmas music, is hoping to spread holiday cheer to the military this season by giving away 1 million CDs to troops and their families. The group and its creator, Chip Davis, have started giving away copies of its multiple Christmas CDs to troops at home and abroad. The group also is giving away copies of its children’s pop-up book, “My Little Christmas Tree.” “Throughout the years, I have had the opportunity to work with many in the armed services,” Davis said. “This...

A U.S. Soldier hands a backpack to a student of the Al Kifah School in the Rusafa district of Baghdad, Nov. 18, 2008. Photo by 1st Lt. Angel Richardson, 926th Engineer Brigade. BAGHDAD — Students of the Al Kifah Girls School in the Rusafa District of Baghdad received much needed school supplies, toys and clothing, Nov. 18, from Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldiers. Lt. Col. Carlton Fisher, chaplain, 926th Engineer Brigade, Multi-National Division – Baghdad, Awatef Fadel, the school principal, and Mohamed Abd Al Rahman, mayor of Rusafa, coordinated the school supply donation. The entire 926th Engineer Brigade Family Readiness...

Greetings Freepers! I'm in Baghdad, Iraq serving with the 403rd Civil Affairs Battalion under the 1st ID at FOB Justice. Ours is a remote post in N Baghdad. It's been quite the experience so far, coming into the military as a strong supporter of the war on terror and seeing things for myself...firsthand! I continue to be very proud of the young men and women serving our great country and you'd be amazed, especially for those of you here in Iraq before me, of the tremendous progress made here and the current state of conditions here. I've been blogging on...

Holiday Mail for Heroes From the front lines to the home front, the American Red Cross provides service members, their families and veterans with the care and assistance they need. The Red Cross is partnering with Pitney Bowes this holiday season for the Holiday Mail for Heroes campaign. For the second year in a row, we’re collecting holiday cards to distribute to American service members, veterans and their families in the United States and around the world. Pitney Bowes is generously donating technology, resources and postage to make this holiday card program possible. Our goal is to collect and distribute...

Letters for the troops Through Dec. 10, the public can send their greeting cards, with adequate postage and a return address, to Holiday Mail for Heroes, P.O. Box 5456, Capitol Heights, Md. 20791-5456. To speed delivery, mailers should not send care packages, money or any inserts, including glitter.

Trail's End has been able to ship 300 tons of popcorn on behalf of the Boy Scouts of America to Iraq and Afghanistan, to Overseas Military Bases, to Domestic Military Bases and to Military Families. Tomorrow is the last day to order so it gets there in time before the holidays. You can order through the Boy Scouts and send some popcorn to the troops and help the boy scouts at the same time. They have an online order system that tracks the orders to the scouts. They don't get any money for the sales they get scout bucs to...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 27, 2008 – Whether you are a young soldier leaving boot camp for a tour in Germany or a seasoned military police officer working in Iraq, receiving a care package from home can be a huge pick-me-up. A Web site launched in September provides many ideas to families and friends wanting to send care packages to love ones stationed abroad. Abby Tymchak of Wayne, N.J., was inspired to create the site, called “The Soldiers Family,” when she found out her husband, Army Sgt. Scott Kowalski, was being deployed overseas for at least a year. Initially, she said,...

It's that time of year to send the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan a gift from home and now you can support the troops and the Boy Scouts at the same time. They have an online order system that tracks the orders to the scouts and they don't get any money for the sales they get scout bucs. The scout troop gets 25% of the sale amount in scout bucs to use towards camp or to buy sleeping bags etc.. If you could just order $10 dollars worth they'd appreciate it and if you don't want any pop corn you...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 10, 2008 – Microwavable popcorn, theater-style candy, sweetened powdered drink mix, a letter of support and a DVD are what deployed troops find when they open a “movie box” from Operation: Take a Soldier to the Movies. Troops show off movie boxes from Operation: Take a Soldier to the Movies. Each box contains microwavable popcorn, theater-style candy, sweetened powdered drink mix, a letter of support and a DVD. Photo courtesy of Operation: Take a Soldier to the Movies  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Bernie and Kathy Hintzke of Milwaukee started the project when their son, Adam,...

Samantha Schroth, a local 4-H member and Hortonville High School student, helps unload donated school supplies, June 12, 2008, in Hortonville, Wisc. Photo by Capt. Casey Plamann, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (AA) Public Affairs. BAGHDAD — A Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldier has reached back to his native homeland to gather English school books for use in Baghdad classrooms. Capt. Casey Plamann, a school teacher from Hortonville, Wis., presently serving as a civil affairs information manager and planner with the 2nd Brigade Combat Team “Strike,� 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), in northwest Baghdad, took a great concept...

Savannah area Starbucks employees and customers have donated over a ton of coffee to the troops over the past two years, and the troops really appreciate it.

WASHINGTON, July 8, 2008 – Movies and games have always been popular among deployed troops, providing a break from the intense daily realities of their duties and a way to fill downtime while away from their loved ones. With that in mind, Blockbuster stores nationwide, in partnership with United Service Organizations, are making it easy for Americans to donate video games and DVDs to deployed forces. “The DVD and game drive is a way for Blockbuster stores and the American public to make life a little better for U.S. servicemen and women when they’re so far away from home,”...

Move America Forward raised $1.5 million in their recent Web telethon. News video from KCRA 3 features Melanie Morgan of Move America Forward

A fundraiser organized to collect sponsorships for care packages for the tens of thousands of U.S. soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan for this 4th of July has generated more than $1 million – the final total could even reach $1.2 million, according to organizers. WND columnist Melanie Morgan and commentator Michelle Malkin of Move America Forward, the nation's largest grassroots pro-troop organization, assembled the sponsorship campaign and aired a "From the Front Lines" Web-a-thon at Ustream.tv this week. On her website, Morgan confirmed, "the telethon exceeded my wildest expectations. I thought that if we were really lucky, really good, caught...

Friday, June 27, 2008 Posted By:Catherine MoyPermalinkTHANK YOU AMERICA!!!!! We’ve topped $1.1 Million for Our Troops!!!!! It is the day after our webathon and I am still numb from the stunning, selfless generosity of America. Our historic - and risky - webathon brought together the best in high-tech Ustream.tv, stars like Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Mark Levin, Laura Ingraham, Gold Star parents and thousands upon thousands of Americans who REALLY support our troops. I want to apologize for failing to get a blog up as we went last night and yesterday. So many folks were participating on line that I...

Telethon Breaks Records, Troops to Receive Largest Care Package Delivery in History Written by Melanie Morgan    Friday, 27 June 2008 The telethon exceeded my wildest expectations. I thought that if we were really lucky, really good, caught some major breaks -we might raise $400,000- tops. Instead, the final tally on the electronic tote board was $1,055,719. In reality, the total far exceeds the final number. The response was so overwhelming that our website could not keep up with the orders. When all is said and done, I am guessing that Move America Forward will have collected about  1.2...

KUTIMIYAH — As if the last day of school wasn’t enough to put smiles on Kutimiyah children’s faces, they also received a special surprise courtesy of 3rd Infantry Division Soldiers. Soldiers of 1st Battalion, 9th Field Artillery, delivered school supplies to the children May 24, courtesy of Mrs. Casandra Hanson’s 9th grade literature class at Germantown High School, in Germantown, Wis. The children had been without a school for several months after it was ravaged by insurgents, said 1st Lt. Greg Highstrom, leader of 2nd Platoon, Battery B. The insurgents cracked windows, damaged the building’s structural integrity and destroyed most...

SIERRA VISTA — Tanya Conde has never had her kindergarten class send care packages off with hopes of getting something back. The Bella Vista Elementary School teacher said she’s been military all her life, going from dependent, to active duty, to a spouse; so sending the care packages was just an important thing to do for her. During February’s National Patriotism Week, Conde decided to have her class put together care packages for the dads of two students in her class, both who are fighting in Iraq. Just recently the class received packages of its own from each soldier, including...

Welcome to the 2008 thread of the Merry Band of Patriots! Our grassroots group of troop supporters started in the summer of 2001 by sending VHS movies and Snickers candy bars to the 101st Airborne and later the 10th Mountain at Camp Bondsteel in Kosovo. We are not an organized charity as no one of us has the time or energy to do all that paperwork, and any contributions made are not tax deductible. Our specialty in the past has been movies, books, snacks, personal care items, holiday decorations and some appliances like DVD players, microwaves, and Playstations; and we...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Two Northland residents came up with a unique way to boost the morale of U.S. troops serving overseas. Cheryl Herrington and Larry Mills are two clowns who have sent thousands of red foam noses to cheer up soldiers at war.

So here's the deal(copy from their website): Every time we get a request for free samples of True Lemon from a new customer, we will donate 10 packets of True Lemon to Operation Gratitude, a non-profit organization providing care packages to U.S. Troops. Here's the link:http://truelemon.com/gratitude-sample.html get a free sample and help out the troops!

WASHINGTON, DC (AFPN) -- Planning to send a care package to a military service member serving abroad? Send it after March 3 to take advantage of a new flat-rate box from the Postal Service that is 50 percent larger and delivered for $10.95 to an APO/FPO address -- $2 less than for domestic destinations. "This is the first time the Postal Service has offered a special price for our armed forces serving overseas," said Postmaster Gen. John Potter. "We're proud that family and friends will be able to use this new larger-sized box to send much appreciated packages from home to our dedicated troops overseas."...

If you’re going to do a good deed, students Megan McGee and Heather Waddell said, there’s no better person to do it for than an American soldier serving in Iraq. The two eighth-graders at Hartselle Junior High are among 36 students who have been collecting items for care packages for local soldiers in Iraq.

OK folks, as of 1730 hours yesterday, Carhartt Inc, the worlds leading maker of durable outdoor and work clothing has generously donated...ready for this??? 750 pairs of ECWCS (Extreme Cold Weather Clothing System) thermal underwear and (this is really good), 5,000, yes thats five THOUSAND pairs of winter wool socks to the 2-503ABN Infantry Regimen 173DABN Brigade (Sep). So I'd like to ask that everyone go out and buy something with the Carhartt label. It doesn't have to be much; it's not a donation, it's a personal purchase for you, or your husband, or son, or wife, or whomever. I...

BAGHDAD — Iraqi Minister of Youth and Sports, Mr. Jasim Jaffar, participated in an event Dec. 30 to distribute soccer equipment donated by the Colorado Rush Soccer Club of Littleton, Colo. The equipment's distribution to about 100 grateful young Iraqis took place in Zawar Park in Baghdad. Mr. Phil Reeker, Counselor for Public Affairs, represented the United States Embassy in Baghdad, and Col. Guy Beougher represented Multi-National Force - Iraq. According to Minister Jaffar, the soccer equipment has thus far been distributed to the Iraqi Legal Union in Baghdad, as well as to youths in the neighborhoods of Al Umal,...

THE SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS Megan pulled a three-ring binder out of her bag and showed me a photograph of herself and her husband. Young--they're both 21--with big smiles on their faces and obviously wildly in love. "That's what he looked like," she said with a somber face, "He was such a cutie-pie?always buying me little stuffed animals and writing the most thoughtful notes the entire time he was in Iraq." Then she showed me the photo of her husband receiving the Purple Heart on Wednesday from President Bush at Bethesda Naval Medical Center. As President Bush pinned the medal on...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE HAMMER, Iraq, Dec. 21, 2007 – While most soldiers are tucked in their beds for the night, a mail handler with 461st Human Resource Battalion, out of Decatur, Ga., is waiting for the mail to arrive. Army Pfc. Cassie Durkin, from Whitewater, Wis., a human resource specialist for 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, sorts packages at Forward Operating Base Hammer, Iraq, Dec. 14, 2007. Photo by Spc. Ben Hutto, USA  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. “We started getting a spike in mail at the end of October,” explained Army Spc. Tony Rogers,...

NORFOLK (AP) — When Army Sgt. Mason Lewis wrote to his mother from Iraq, he didn't ask for anything for himself. The 26-year-old Gloucester, Va., man wanted her to send toys that he could then give to the children he saw playing in the streets with cans. His friends are continuing his mission with Operation Mason, a drive to collect stuffed animals to send to Iraq in memory of Sgt. Lewis, who died Nov. 16 when he fell off a roof in a training accident. "I never got to tell Mason 'thank you' or to say goodbye to Mason. I...

12/19/2007 - EIELSON AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska -- Volunteers gathered more than 5,500 cookies for the single Airmen living in the dormitories Dec. 14 during Operation Cookie Crunch at Eielson Air Force Base. "The importance of the cookie drive is for morale building," said Jeanette Pauer, OCC project coordinator and wife of Lt. Col. Brett Pauer, a member of the 353rd Combat Training Squadron. "Providing home-baked cookies for our single Airmen is a simple sentiment that sends a message that there is big family here at Eielson who appreciates them." With temperatures (at times) dipping down to minus 30 F,...