SAMOA is embarking on a program to send necessary articles to our service men and women who are deployed to combat zones. The club will pay for the packaging and postage and we are asking members to donate items. Bring the items to each meeting and we will take care of mailing them. The articles that are welcomed and needed are: The first care package will be sent to Pam and Randy Hunt’s Son Dylan who is stationed in Iraq. Here are the items Dylan says go over big: - Pistachios - DVDs- Mel Brooks stuff, action or comedy - Books-Action type, Dean Koontz, Dale Brown - Slingshot-for the camel spiders - Fly repellent- OFF or Cutters - Fly paper (REALLY!!) They need it to hang in their rooms - Crackers-the type that are with peanut butter in the middle - Gatorade powder-preferably Fruit Punch but about anything will do. - Phone Calling cards- these are best ordered on line from the military shopping site www.aafes.com. This is a military shopping site where family and friends can purchase the cards. Most of the phone cards available for purchase elsewhere have little value for overseas calling. For example a 1000 minute AT&T card is only good for about 90 minutes of actual talking time due to the additional changes. The cards you purchase from AAFES, made specifically for Iraq, Kuwait and Afghanistan, get around 125 minutes on a 550 minute card and for less money. We would also like the names and addresses of other service men and women serving in combat areas whom you know, and who are family and friends. We will send subsequent packages to them. Questions? Call Mike DeLaurentis at 916.791.9418 or email him. |
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| FROM NICOLE OLIVE... Mike, Helen and the members of the club, Thank you all so much for the time and effort that went into making the care package. I received it and LOVED all the items! Trail mix is my fav, so that went the fastest! I shared with some co-workers and they were very appreciative also. I'm stationed at Bagram which is about an hour from Kabul, which is the capitol . It's not as dangerous up here as it is in the south, but it's still pretty dangerous. I work in the ICU so most injured soldiers come through our hospital. The really injured will come to our unit along with all the local nationals who get injured. I've seen some really terrible things, but I've also seen amazing recoveries which help make it all worthwhile. I'm happy that you send these packages to the troops, sometimes we feel forgotten. Its organizations like your club that make us feel appreciated and thought of by people back home. I hope all is well in beautiful, sunny and amazing California (can you tell I miss it?) and I'm so excited to come home in just 3 months. Again, thanks so much for thinking of me even though we've never met. Everything in the package was perfect and it really cheered me up. Thank you Nicole |
| Thanks to Mike and Helen DeLaurentis, who have been ceaseless in their efforts to support our men and women of the Armed Services who are deployed overseas. |
| UPDATE In the years that our program has been in place, SAMOA has sent articles monthly to our service men and women in the Middle East. The club is supporting this effort by collecting and mailing your contributions. We have incurred mailing costs of nearly $150, and we firmly believe that no amount is too much to support these troops. Thank you for your continuing efforts. |