Hello Kossacks, today is Day 8 of BFM Troop Care, and here’s how things are going ..
We make a pretty generic and broad commitment that all of the units identified (on anysoldier.com) as being from Michigan will get a holiday package from us. This is something that caused us a little bit of trouble last year, because we went from having only 11 units to support when we started, up to 17 units when we were done. So far this year we’ve gone from 5 up to 7, which has increased out troop count by about 60. As of today, we need $1200 to support all of our troops.
Here are some of the things that our troops are asking for –
Over the jump ..
- Digital Entertainment
- DVD movies, including latest releases and NFL football games of any date, speakers for computers, Itunes gift cards
- Non-Digital Entertainment
- Books / magazines / puzzles / games, including Pictionary, Cranium, Sorry, Monopoly, Risk, dartboards / scrap booking items, photo albums, arts and crafts, woodburning kits, stickers / volleyballs and net, footballs, baseballs, soccer balls, Any weight lifting gloves, workout equipment to include rubber bands (we have none) (BFM Note: We have collected enough bibles for this drive)
- Wearables
- Male boxer shorts, sizes 32-34 and 34-36, Running shoes size 10, 10.5, and 11, crew and ankle socks (men and women sizes 9-11), sunglasses
- Housewares
- Swiffer dusting cloths, rugs for rooms, air fresheners, inspirational posters to decorate dirty walls
- Food
- Pringles, popcorn, chocolate, strawberry poptarts, gummy bears, creatine mix, popcorn, freezer pops, blueberry muffins, healthy snack foods; green tea, dehydrated fruits; General Foods International Hazelnut Belgian Cafe instant coffee; microwave popcorn - butter; wild berry lifesaver gummies; gum; Nature Valley Roasted Almond Crunch bars, white chocolate pretzel flipz, marshmellows for hot chocolate, marshmallow cream, kettle corn popcorn, chedder cheese popcorn, Jack Links Peppered Beef Jerky, Doubl Stuff Oreos, Honey Roasted Cashews, SPLENDA in the big bags, other beef jerky, any type of chocolate pudding to include caramel, butterscotch, cookies n cream and vanilla, white fudge flips
- Hygiene products
– shampoo, conditioners, other hair products, body washes, make-up (black mascara, brown eye liner, foundation and powder for light to medium complexions), lotions, Skintimate shaving cream, Gillette, Mach 3 razor blades, Lamisil cream, Gold Bond Foot Powder (Blue bottle), and Dr. Scholl's insoles for our boots and tennis shoes, round cotton pads, Listerine mouthwash, brown and black hair ties, body cream due to extremely dry skin, razors, toothbrush and toothpaste, kotex tampons (both regular and super), deodorant.
- General Comfort
- soft towels, soft pillows, heating blankets with automatic shut-off
- Big Dreams
- Wii syster with guitar hero and rockband games and various others
- Personal
- letters from students of all ages, letters from various churches
- Christmas
– Christmas decorations – fake trees, lots of color decorations, and lights, Christmas candies, Christmas music and Christmas cookies and candies
- Communication
- AT &T phone cards, phone cards for Asia net cell phones (can be purchased on line), phone cards, bulk greeting cards for every event
Right now we are planning on concentrating our efforts on filling the needs for hygiene products, socks, and Christmas items. We’ll also be sending out as many books, magazines, and personal letters and cards to our troops as possible. If we make our goal, we can send some DVDs and food items to our troops as well.
This year is a tough year for Troop Care. We don’t have the partnership with the UAW / GM that we had last year, and our readers are tapped out from candidate contributions. I won’t even mention the economy.
But we know there are at least 120 people out there who can sponsor a soldier for $10. This is a great way to show your commitment to the Michigan units that are deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan. It takes only a few minutes to donate online, or send a check.
If you don’t have any cash to spare, can you organize your church or a group of friends to collect some magazines, dvds, books, or games, that you have around your houses? How about a letter writing drive? Our troops are always glad to get personal letters from the folks at home. We’ll make arrangements to pick up whatever you collect.
We know that it’s tough out there, but we know that together, we can send our troops some happiness for the holidays.
Donate to Troop Care online here, or send a check or money order to,
BFM Media LLC
PO Box 62
Corunna, MI 48817
This is a Blogging For Michigan Troop Care post. From November 11 through November 25, 2008, Blogging For Michigan will use 100% of every dollar received in the Troop Care fund to purchase and ship items to Michigan troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Learn more about BFM Troop Care here. Click here to contribute to Troop Care. Contributions are not tax deductible.