A Georgia Girl in Germany

I know the holidays are difficult times to be away from loved ones, but that care packages really help out when individuals are deployed. In that vein, if anyone’s interested in sending goodies to folks downrange, below are a few addresses and suggestions that have come my way. Feel free to spread holiday cheer with these individuals...the kids and I will be sending them goodies as well, but I know there are plenty of others whom they work with who they can share with as well.

Mailing stuff to deployed locations is pretty inexpensive as it is treated as domestic mail. You can even sometimes get postage for free as there are exemptions for care packages to U.S. soldiers abroad.

Of course, care packages are appreciated year-round, too.

If any of you want to make a young Soldier's day, send goodies (especially Tasty Kake stuff!) to a young Army Specialist who works with detainees in Baghdad.
SPC James Rafetto
TF 31, S-3
APO AE 09342

Here’s a lady who works with Army nurses, and would appreciate girly stuff, cosmetics, cotton balls (she actually would love that), nail polish (they can paint their toenails!), makeup remover, Neutrogena cleanser, L'Oreal eye cream, SPF Oil of Olay day cream, etc.
MAJ(P) Mary Connell
TF 31, S-3
APO AE 09342

My dear friend, Holly, moved from Germany to Qatar a few months ago. Fortunately, she and her husband are deployed together, although mission requirements sometimes have them apart. But, she terribly misses her dog. Knowing her, you can send the same type of stuff as listed above for MAJ Connell.
LTC Holly Silkman
CENTCOM, ATTN: CFH - CCPA
APO, AE 09365

If you’re interested in sending items to school children in Iraq, here’s a recent West Point graduate (JohnPaul, I don’t know his last name) who’s working to make a difference in his part of the world, and a letter he sent out that was forwarded and found its way to my in-box. He’s asking for items to be mailed his way by Dec. 15 so he can consolidate everything and distribute by New Year’s.

As we are working on projects with the people here in the rural magistrate of Rashidiya, the situation has been improving dramatically. We've gone from an average of 15 instances of enemy contact/week to less than one. My personal pet-project is the improvement of the local schools, and I am determined to make a significant improvement before I have to leave. Now, we don't just pour your tax-payer's money to improve these schools. A lot of the process involves making the government in Baghdad aware of the problems and situation and eliciting aid from the Ministry of Education, which is becoming more and more a functional organization. Through them, and aided in part by U.S. dollars, we have made improvements ranging from a new paint job to a whole new wing of a school. Now that we've made some headway, I've been looking into finding ways to better supply the local schools with the essentials (paper, pens, pencils, etc.).

I've gone around and asked the school teachers/principals and this is what they need most:
-Normal sized notebooks
-Pencils
-Pencil sharpeners
-Erasers
-Folders
-Script paper (that's the stuff we used when learning to write cursive with a dashed line between the lines to designate the lower-case letters. This stuff is seriously in short supply here)
-Small, inexpensive backpacks (we've used these to make ready-to-go packs for the kids)

Also, for the teachers:
-Dictionaries
-Organizers (don't need too many of these)
-Anything else you teachers out there can think up

And some additional stuff for the kids (obviously, school supplies are paramount to this stuff):
-Soccer balls (with a pump or two thrown in)
-Beanie babies are always a hit
-Non-perishable candy (I'll generally give this to the parents/teachers to give out)
-Anything else you can think of that doesn't require batteries

-Send packages to the following address:
CPT James A Sink
A BTRY, 2-12 FA, 4/2 ID
Unit: 6001
APO, AE 09378

Really, I can't think of a better way to make the Christmas packages you send here worthwhile. I need LOTS of this stuff, so whatever you can send is good.

Even if you can only send a care package to one of the individuals listed above, know that you’re sending cheer to someone who is away from family and loved ones during the holidays and that what you send will make a world of difference halfway around the world.

Labels: Christmas